The fate of German, WWII U-boat U-864 has finally been decided.
The sub, resting on the bottom off the coast of Norway, is to be buried so that its cargo of toxic mercury won't contaminate the coastline. Plans are underway to bury 864 beneath a bed of absorbent sand that will then be covered with heavier fill to prevent erosion.
U-864 was sunk toward the end of the war by the British sub HMS Venturer while it was enroute to Japan with a cargo of 65 tonnes of mercury.
The Norwegian government rejected requests from local fishermen to raise the sub because the risk of spreading the mercury contamination was just too great.
4 comments:
Wrooong....
Raising and burying have long been seen as equally dangerous, following a report made by an investigation team. And now the decision has been made; it's to be raised, not buried.
Finally a decision!
Yeah, I read the salvage company's report on how they intend to do a modified Glomar Explorer recovery but, as of November, the final decision wasn't taken. I look at Norwegian government sites but all I could find was that the decision was still pending.
Moomoet's idea is interesting, if the sub is strong enough to lift, intact. A rack of claws lifts the sub and moves it over to a submerged cradle. The cradle, with sub in place, is raised to the surface. Then a floating drydock-type vessel submerges and slides under the cradle, surfaces and transports the sub and cradle to shore where it's rolled into a hazardous material bay for removal of the mercury.
It's an ambitious project and still risky but getting the remaining mercury away from the site is well worth the effort- if it works.
Have you heard that a final decision has been taken? If so, when?
It was taken yesterday. :) They announced it at a press conference at like... three o'clock?
I suppose you can't read Norwegian, but Aftenposten (A shittier, less serious [sorry, I just hate the norwegian media] version of the Daily Mail) have an article about it. I'll link you, just for the hell of it: http://www.aftenposten.no/nyheter/iriks/article2896680.ece
I know Aftenposten have english articles somewhere, but I can't find it. Sorry.
Great Ellen, thanks very much. It'll be fascinating to watch the wreck being raised. I just hope it doesn't break up being lifted onto the cradle.
I've been wondering if this cradle technology will be able to raise some of the Soviet junk on the bottom near your country.
Cheers from the other side of the world.
R
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