NORTH SEA ENABLER

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Ardent recovered more oil from Manolis L than anticipated

There was more oil than anticipated in the wreck of the "Manolis L", 5453 gt (IMO: 8031110) which sank off the coast of Newfoundland's northeast coast in 1985 and has been languishing in waters near Change Islands ever since. When the federal government awarded a $15-million contract to Ardent Global in 2018 to remove the oil remaining in the vessel, a Coast Guard survey had said there was between 115,000 and 150,000 litres left on board. According to a release sent on Jan 10, 2019, by Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Ardent Global recovered 208,769 litres - enough oil to fill 1,313 oil barrels with the "Tidewater Enabler". The "Manolis L" could have been carrying up to 600,000 litres of oil. Some escaped during the sinking, and more leaked out roughly five years ago after a large storm disturbed the wreck's resting place. In 2013, two cracks were found in the hull of the ship and were determined to be leaking oil into the waters near Change Islands. The cracks were fixed, but small sheens in the water and oiled seabirds have been reported since then. The ship was resting in 70 metres of cold water, and the recovery operation used remotely operated vehicles. The heavy fuel on board was heated with steam in order to remove it and, once it was out of the ship, it was sent to an environmental company for proper disposal. 14 tanks on the vessel were pumped and flushed out. Report with photos: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/more-oil-manolis-l-1.4974425

Recovered oil of Manolis L unloaded in St. John's

The Canadian Coast Guard said the operation to remove the oil from the "Manolis L" was a success. Ardent Global LLC., under contract by the Canadian Coast Guard, completed the removal of the oil that was still in the storage tanks of the wreck — pumping it from 200 feet below the surface where the wreck had settled after running upon the treacherous Blow Hard Rock during storm in 1985. During the oil removal operation in summer 2018, the Canada Coast Guard and Transport Canada were on the scene monitoring the operation with resources ready to respond should anything go wrong. The exact amount of oil will be quantified during the off-loading process and provided in the official report from Ardent Global salvage company. During a $5-million technical assessment carried out in the summer of 2016 by Resolve Salvage of Fort Lauderdale , it was discovered that much of the cargo of heavy fuel oils and diesel that was thought to have gone down and remained in the "Manolis L" had escaped — some of it at the time of the grounding and sinking through ripped-open tanks, while more was released gradually over the years through cracks in the hull. The amount remaining on board was assessed to be in the range of 113 to 151 tonnes. In April, the federal government announced that a $15.1-million contract for the removal of bulk oil from the Manolis L shipwreck was awarded to Ardent Global. Ardent Global and the Canadian Coast Guard began work at the "Manolis L" site in July. Before leaving the site any penetrations into the wreck were secured. There were several complete surveys done of it to ensure that any concerns were taken care of, whether it was placing seals on suspected areas and capping the protrusions. But going forward the wreck site will continue to be monitored by Coast Guard patrols or aerial patrols when in the area. The recovered oil was pumped from the wreck using ROV technology and contained onboard the "Tidewater Enabler" which was used by Ardent Global as the staging platform for the operation. At dock in St. John’s harbour on Sep 11, Envirosystems Inc. began unloading the waste oil, which will be cleaned at the company’s St. John’s facility and then transported to approved combustion facilities in the province. The facility in St. John’s will be the initial receiving site for the waste oil from the "Manolis L", and the company was removing the oil from the "Tidewater Enabler", and it will be transported to our facility on Logy Bay Road. Once the waste oil is received it is processed at this facility in a thermal, mechanical, chemical treatment process which is used to de-water the waste oil and remove the salt and sediments. Once it comes out of our process, it’s transported to approved used-oil combustion facilities within the province.” Reports with photos and video: http://www.thewesternstar.com/news/local/canadian-coast-guard-says-operation-to-remove-the-oil-from-manolis-l-shipwreck-a-success-240550/ https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/ardent-completes-removal-of-fuel-oil-from-the-manolis-l

Oil removal from Manolis L completed

The "Tidewater Engabler" had completed the oil removal from the "Manolis L" (IMO: 8031110) which sank in 1985 near Change Islands in Notre Dame Bay with 150,000 litres of oil aboard. Early in August work began to remove the remaining oil using ROVs, to avoid risks to human divers and allow for longer dives. The "Tidewater Enabler" pumped oil from the wreck, under 70 metres of water. The $15-million contract for oil removal was given to Houston-based Ardent Global. In the afternoon of Sep 8, the Canadian Coastguard announced that bulk oil pumping operations were completed.