The salvage effort to remove the wreck of the containership MSC Baltic III has begun pulling the hull of the vessel onto shore for dismantling. The Canadian Coast Guard reports that the pulling operation started on July 31 and that there has been some movement of the vessel towards shore.
It is a slow process to pull the 207-meter (679-foot) long hull onto the beach at Ceder Cove in Newfoundland. The ship came to rest in the remote cove in February 2025 after it blacked out during a fierce winter storm. Over the past two winter seasons, heavy weather and high waves took a toll on the ship, causing the hull to buckle, and a crack formed in the hull near midships.
This phase of the salvage operation, which is being paid for by MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company and its insurance companies, is being undertaken by Resolve Marine using twelve 300-tonne hydraulic chain-pullers. The supervisor for the salvage company explained that they attached three-inch stud link anchor grade chains to the hull near the bow. The hull is being pulled onto a rock bed on the shoreline, where the dismantling process will be undertaken.
To prepare for this phase of the operation, Resolve Marine completed over the past few months the removal of the remaining containers, which had been trapped in the hull of the vessel. They reported that the containers, in addition to being waterlogged, were deformed and in some cases had to be cut out of the racks. One container, which was transporting newsprint, remains in the hull of the ship, waterlogged and too badly damaged to be removed. They plan to deal with it as the ship is dismantled.
The holds were also drained of accumulated water during the preparations to begin pulling the ship. A water treatment operation was set up to deal with clearing the holds. The cargo hatches and other cargo equipment were also removed before the pulling began.
The superstructure containing the accommodations and bridge was also dismantled before the pulling operation began. Those sections have already been barged to the recycling operation in Stephenville, Newfoundland. As the hull is dismantled, sections will be trucked or moved by barge to the recycling operation.
The team also plans to address residual amounts of fuel and other contaminants that remain trapped aboard the ship. The majority of the fuel and contaminants were removed from the ship during the first phase of the salvage operation in 2025. Bruce English, who is overseeing the operation for the Canadian Coast Guard, notes there have been no major leaks from the vessel, and the operation has been successful in preventing a significant threat to the environment. Pollution response measures are in place should there be any additional release of contaminants during this phase of the operation.
Resolve Marine expects the operation to continue for another year as they clear the ship and restore the cove.
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