Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Howell | Members of the 7th Engineer Dive Detachment, 130th Engineer Brigade, 8th Theater...... read more read more
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HONOLULU - A team of Army divers partnered with the state of Hawaii Department of Transportation Harbors Division to perform an assessment for the possible salvage of a sunken 77 foot abandoned fishing vessel, the Judy K, in the Honolulu Harbor, June 30, 2015.
Earlier this year, this boat leaked an estimated 150 gallons of diesel fuel into the harbor and although this vessel currently does not pose a threat to the environment or to public health and safety, Darrell T. Young, the state of Hawaii Department of Transportation Harbors Division deputy director stressed the importance of this harbor.
“80 percent of goods are imported to Hawaii and of that 80 percent, 99 percent of that comes through this harbor,” said Young. “That’s how important this is.”
Over the course of two days, the 7th Engineer Dive Detachment, 130th Engineer Brigade, 8th Theater Sustainment Command, conducted multiple dives to assess the potential for the boat to refloat at a later date in order to be removed from the harbor. Each dive was targeted to assess different areas of the ship to see the current state of the structure.
If the team’s assessment shows that it can be salvaged, operations to resurface and refloat the vessel could take a minimum of two weeks.
“It poses a lot of challenges for us and with a salvage there are a lot of variables,” said Staff Sgt. David Craig, the noncommissioned officer in charge of the project and a Hawaiian native. “In the best case scenario, I believe we could get this boat to float, not useable, but able to float.”
After the dives are complete, Craig and his team will compile the data to figure out what materials they would need to repair the structure and the estimated time on how long it will take to bring it back to the surface.
“Every salvage needs engineer work,” Craig said. “Every boat sinks differently and, every time you go out to a job like this, it is different because the factors change. Designing a salvage is complicated and a lot of work but it is my favorite type of job.”
This real-world training event proved to be a great opportunity for the dive detachment while providing support to the local community.
“We believe the Army divers bring a capability that we cannot find in the private market,” said Young. “We also believe that partnering with the Army Divers has saved us tens of thousands of dollars for the state. When we put this up for bid, we estimated the cost of the project to be $30-50,000 but the local contractors bid amounts more than $100,000. That is a lot of money for the state.”
“We are extremely grateful for this help,” Young added. “This is a great example of a mutually beneficial relationship between our federal partners and us. We couldn’t do it without these guys.”
| Date Taken: | 06.30.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 07.01.2015 16:40 |
| Story ID: | 168826 |
| Location: | HONOLULU, HI, US |
| Web Views: | 102 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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