SALVOR

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Latest news

Wreckage if crashed aircraft taken to Iwakuni

The USS 'Salvor' arrived on Dec 30 at the Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni carrying wreckage from one of the nation's Osprey transport aircraft, which had crashed on Nov 29, in waters near Yakushima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture, killing all eight people on board. The U.S. military is expected to fully investigate what has been salvaged from the aircraft. The wreckage had been pulled out of the sea and placed onto the salvage vessel's deck board on Dec 27. The vessel was on a mission to recover the plane's fuselage. The aircraft's black box has also been recovered and will allow the U.S. military to look into what caused the crash. The recovered wreckage is part of the fuselage of the CV-22 transport aircraft, which was assigned to Yokota Air Base in the western suburbs of Tokyo. The fuselage was found underwater in early December near the island. So far, the bodies of seven airmen have been recovered, and the U.S. Air Force has declared all eight crew members dead. The U.S. military has suspended all of its Osprey flights worldwide, including non-Air Force flights, after finding that the crash may have been due to a malfunction. Japan's Ground Self-Defense Forces have also suspended flights of its V-22 Ospreys, which have been temporarily deployed at Camp Kisarazu in Chiba Prefecture, near Tokyo. Report with photo: https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2023/12/1761c7b9cd85-us-forces-ship-carrying-osprey-wreckage-arrives-western-japan-base.html#google_vignette

HMCS Protecteur heading home under tow from U.S. navy tug

A Canadian navy warship that was badly damaged in U.S. waters by a massive fire at sea in February is on its way back to Canadian waters, under tow by a U.S. tug, CBC News has learned. HMCS Protecteur departed Pearl Harbor on Thursday morning under tow from USNS Salvor, beginning a slow voyage across the North Pacific back to its home port of CFB Esquimalt near Victoria, B.C. There are four Royal Canadian Navy sailors aboard Salvor for the sail home. "She's making six knots right now, which is good," said navy spokesman Lt.-Cmdr Des James. "From our perspective, everything looks promising." The trip under tow is expected to take as long as three weeks, depending on the weather, but it could be Protecteur's last trip.

Salvor on scene, grounded Guardian a total loss

While the "Salvor" reached the grounding site of the USS "Guardian" on Jan 27, the U.S. Navy said it will cut up the trapped minesweeper and take it away piece by piece. The only supportable option is to dismantle the damaged ship and remove it in sections, a spokesman for the U.S. Pacific Fleet, said on Jan. 29. The decision keeps salvage equipment in deeper water and minimizes further damage to the coral reef. The salvage plan aims to safely remove individual sections of the ship without causing the release of harmful materials. The dismantling operation is expected to take more than a month to complete. After all the ship’s fuel has been removed, teams continued to take off more materiel. The Navy has safely transferred approximately 15,000 gallons of diesel fuel, 671 gallons of lubricating oil, dry food stores, paints and solvents contained in storage lockers, and the personal effects left behind by the crew from the ship after it grounded on the Tubbataha Reef, about 80 nautical miles east-southeast of Palawan island. Report with photos: http://blogs.defensenews.com/intercepts/2013/01/trapped-u-s-navy-minesweeper-to-be-broken-up/