Salvors Survey Grande America Wreck

Seabed survey and ocean exploration company Ocean Infinity said it has conducted urgent subsea search, inspection and operations on the wreck of the MV Grande America, which sank in the Bay of Biscay on March 12.

Grande America capsized and sunk last month after its cargo of containers and vehicles caught fire during a voyage from Hamburg to Casablanca.

Having entered into an agreement with marine services and salvage company Ardent, Ocean Infinity deployed its fleet of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV) to locate the wreck. The firm then used its remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROV) to conduct a program of inspection and operations, in order to determine the state of the sunken container roll-on/roll-off (ConRo) vessel.

The mission was conducted from Ocean Infinity’s vessel Island Pride which had been in Gibraltar prior to this tasking.

Oliver Plunkett, Ocean Infinity’s CEO, said, “We are pleased that we were able to rapidly deploy Island Pride, in answer to the call for assistance following the loss. At a depth of approximately 4,600 meters, our data gathering technology was used to assess the state of the wreck, and the high quality imagery that we collected was pivotal in guiding our ROV team in executing the subsequent intervention.

“Emergency response, whether it’s a loss of assets, damaged infrastructure or where there is the potential for environmental impact, is a key part of Ocean Infinity’s offering. With three permanently mobilised highly capable vessels, each with a complete set of the latest deep water technology tools, deployed across the globe, we are uniquely placed to react quickly to crisis situations across the world’s oceans.”