Little chance of early salvage for sunken ship

Little chance of early salvage for sunken ship

22 February 2017

A TALLSHIP remains submerged in Portaferry harbour three weeks after its dramatic sinking.

The 140-foot Regina Caelis sunk in stormy weather at the end of January while tethered at Cook Street jetty.

Its Ardglass owner, Willie Mulhall, had pledged to salvage the boat within days of the accident and had hoped a Maltese crew would return to continue to restore the 1930s schooner before taking it abroad.

However, he yesterday confirmed righting the tall ship would prove more costly and difficult than first anticipated.

Mr Mulhall said he was working with Ards and North Down Borough Council to find the best way to lift the ship from the water, but said health and safety legislation and the need to secure a specialist diving team had led to delays.

He said he had written a letter to the Queen of Denmark, where the vessel was built, seeking her help, while launching a crowd funding page seeking financial support for the salvage effort.

Although keen to lift the Regina Caelis as soon as possible, Mr Mulhall said he was not concerned about the length of time it had been submerged.

“Sinking a boat can be a method of looking after it over the winter so that is not particularly unusual although I would not want it to be there in storms,” he said.

“I am working with the council, which is deciding whether to lift it out with a giant crane and put it onto a platform, which would be expensive.

“The council has also hired a security guard for the harbour and sent a diver down to assess that it can indeed be lifted.

“There will be consultation and legalities that need sorted before anything will be done. There are many rules and regulations.”

A spokesman for Ards and North Down Borough Council said the schooner was moored at the jetty without its permission and said it had made numerous attempts to move the vessel from the pier.

“Legal action was taken against the boat owner and a court order obtained requiring him to move his vessel from Cook Street Jetty,” he said.

A spokesman for the Department of Agriculture Environment and Rural Affairs yesterday said it would monitor any salvage operation to ensure that any risk to the environment is kept to a minimum.”