Page 22: of Marine Technology Magazine (November 2018)

Case Study Subsea Oil Recovery

Oil Removed from

Shipwreck

WWII Shipwreck

A U.S. Navy led team has removed sunk in December 1946. worked to select, assemble and deploy 229,000 gallons of oil from a sunken Now, 72 years later, a project team led the right combination of equipment,

World War II era German heavy cruis- by Stephanie Bocek of the Navy’s Su- tools and consumables to support the er that has been resting on the sea? oor pervisor of Salvage and Diving (SUP- planned operation. near the Marshall Islands for more than SALV) and sponsored by the U.S. Army The load-out included “hot tap” oil ex- 70 years. Space and Missile Defense Command traction systems, submersible pumping

After being transferred to the U.S. as a / Army Forces Strategic Command has systems, oil spill response resources, war prize, the cruiser Prinz Eugen was performed the unprecedented removal tank close-out and patching supplies, loaded with oil and cargo and used to of oil from up to 173 tanks of a heavy and other innovative diver tools. assess survivability of warships during cruiser warship. A market search was conducted to the Operation Crossroads atomic bomb The operation required two years of identify and charter a commercial oil tests in the Paci? c. The ship survived research and planning. Prior to removal tanker to collect the recovered petro- two atomic blasts before being towed to of oil, SUPSALV’s Emergency Ship leum product transport it for disposal or

Kwajalein Atoll, where it capsized and Salvage Material oil spill response team recycling at the conclusion of the opera-

U.S. Navy photo by LeighAhn Ferrari

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