ASNE/SNAME Joint Meeting Hears Report On Clearing Of Suez Canal

A recent joint meeting of the Pacific Northwest Sections of the American Society of Naval Engineers and The Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers saw a movie on salvage, and heard Capt. J. Huntly Boyd of the Puget Sound Navy Shipyard discuss the problems of clearing the Suez Canal in 1974. After a truce had been declared, the U.S. Navy was asked to clear the Canal of 10 wrecks, one of which was to be salvaged.

The Canal was first swept for mines, unexploded bombs, and ammunition. The size, location, and condition of the wrecks were outlined. Each one presented a different problem of removal. For removing the wrecks, two 500-ton lift cranes and a 2,400- ton lift craft were used.

The wrecks that were too large to handle in a single lift were cut into pieces. Divers would score the vessel with an oxy torch and then attach explosives. To reduce diving time, many of the lifts were done with two cranes/lift craft working together.

Where the current presented a problem, cofferdams were constructed. The cofferdams allowed divers to work in the vessel without swimming through an unpredictable current.

The wrecks had built up a fair amount of silt that had to be removed.

At the meeting, SNAME announced the election results of next year's officers: Section chairman is Tom Dyer of Foss Launch & Tug Co., and secretary-treasurer is William Dahlbeck of Gloston Associates. Area vice chairmen are: Puget Sound Area, Bruce Adee of University of Washington; Columbia River Area, Jim Grider of Northwest Marine Iron Works; and B.C. Area, Victor Gadsby of Vancouver Shipyards. Area secretary- treasurers are: Don Merrit of Dillingham Ship Repair for Columbia River, and Chalmers Morris of Vancouver Shipyards for the B.C. Area. John T. Mitchell of Northwest Marine Iron Works was elected to the Executive Board.

Other stories from August 1981 issue

Content

Maritime Reporter

First published in 1881 Maritime Reporter is the world's largest audited circulation publication serving the global maritime industry.