BREAKING NEWS: Sunken salmon farm vessel safely raised

Salmon farmer Scottish Sea Farms’ landing craft, the Julie Anne, which sank in the Sound of Mull last month without warning, has been safely raised.

There is still no explanation as to why the vessel sank, but experts hope to find more clues now that it has been recovered.

Meanwhile, Scottish Sea Farms said that although there has been a small leakage of diesel from the sunken craft, this has not affected the quality of the fish at its nearby farm site.

Following the vessel’s sinking on 4 July 2024, appointed salvors Jifmar Group and environmental mitigation experts Briggs Marine worked to secure all vents and outlets, remove the fuel on-board and prepare the Julie Anne for refloating.

Scottish Sea Farms said a first attempt to recover the vessel via the approved method of lift bags was made on Sunday 21 July but proved unsuccessful.

A series of test lifts thereafter led to the decision to change the recovery method to a specialist crane vessel – the Lara 1 – with the capacity to lift the Julie Anne directly.

The Lara 1 arrived on site yesterday, 29 August.

Scottish Sea Farms said late yesterday: “In accordance with the recovery procedure and tow plan – approved by lead agency, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA), the Secretary of State’s Representative and independent marine salvage consultants ABL Group – the Julie Anne was lifted into a containment boom on the water’s surface, where she will remain secured alongside the Lara 1 overnight.

“Tomorrow, Friday 30 August, she will be raised onto the deck of the crane vessel to be checked for any leaks before being lowered back to sea level, ready for towing.”

The statement went on: “Throughout the recovery, Briggs Marine have worked hand in hand with Jifmar Group to minimise any residual diesel from raising the vessel. This includes pumping as much potentially oily water as possible into intermediate bulk containers (IBCs) and removing any remaining sheen via absorbents.

“Thanks to the project team’s combined expertise, the total estimated diesel fuel loss arising from the vessel’s sinking and recovery over the eight-week period was contained to c.200 litres.”

Diesel leak contained

Environmental campaigners had condemned the leakage of diesel from the sunken vessel, but Scottish Sea Farms said that a breach of the containment area on 21 July had been dealt with by other measures.

Scottish Sea Farms Head of Health & Safety Gerry McCormick said: “We are indebted to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and to specialist contractors Jifmar Group, Briggs Marine and Inverlussa Marine Services.

“Thanks to their collective expertise, we have been able to retrieve the vast majority of the fuel on-board, recover the vessel from the seabed and, crucially, remove the risk of any further small seepages of diesel into the marine environment.

“Even just one litre of fuel lost to the sea is, however, one litre too many, and our primary focus now is identifying the root cause of the vessel sinking.”

The Julie Anne will be towed to a secure location where a full inspection will be carried out to identify the cause of the sinking.

The company said: “To ensure that the salmon at Scottish Sea Farms’ adjacent Fiunary farm remain food-safe, appropriate testing took place on 5 August 2024 for analysis by specialist external laboratories, the results of which concluded there was no indication of hydrocarbon taint and the salmon are safe for human consumption.

“For added reassurance, fish will now be tested again and analysed. When the results confirm there has been no change, harvesting will begin.”