The crew of six on the freighter aground on rocks off Duncansby Head are hoping a renewed bid will be made to refloat the stricken vessel before the end of this week.
Salvage teams are continuing preparations for the operation, including offloading part of the cargo of fertiliser the Priscilla was carrying when it ran on the Pentland Skerries on Tuesday last week.
Acting SOSRep Hugh Shaw says that: ‘Good progress is being made and the agreed quantity of bunkers has now been safely removed from MV Priscilla. I am pleased to report that operations to prepare the vessel for a re-float are progressing well.’ https://t.co/DqibRftmoZ pic.twitter.com/SQjPOcj6yV
— Maritime&Coastguard (@MCA_media) July 24, 2018
By lunchtime yesterday, more than 270 tonnes of the 3,300-tonne payload had been transferred to a barge and taken to nearby Windwick Bay where it was loaded on to the Priscilla’s sister vessel, Alan Evita.
A second barge later took over, with a total of 1,350 tonnes expected to be shifted.
The teams have also removed 28 tonnes of marine gas oil from the Dutch-owned vessel.
A small fleet of salvage vessels are being deployed within the 1000-metre exclusion zone established by the Multraship/Ardent/Wagenborg consortium, which is in charge of the operation.
To control an unplanned refloat during the removal of the bulk fertiliser, one of the tugs is to be connected to the stern of the Priscilla when 500 tonnes has been discharged.
The salvage is being overseen by Hugh Shaw, the Secretary of State’s acting representative for Maritime Salvage and Intervention.
He said: “Good progress is being made and the agreed quantity of bunkers has now been safely removed from MV Priscilla.
“I am pleased to report that operations to prepare the vessel for a re-float are progressing well.”
He said the crew on the 2,281-tonne ship remain safe. The vessel ran aground as it entered the eastern approach to the Pentland Firth en route to a port in Cumbria.
After it is towed off the reef, it is expected to be taken to Lyness harbour in Orkney for inspection and repairs.
