All five fishing boats which sank in the Inner Harbour last month after being engulfed in a mystery blaze have been salvaged and towed to temporary berths at Doca da Ilha Verde.
The Marine and Water Bureau (DSAMA) said the salvage work was completed yesterday and its staff are now scanning the seafloor and cleaning up oil spillages.
The five boats sank after six vessels were gutted by a huge blaze and several explosions on 25 April. The cause of the fire – in which no-one was killed and only one person required hospitalisation for emotional distress – is still under investigation. The sixth boat, though badly damaged, was towed away to a nearby berth.
The bureau organised a salvage team to estimate the size of the affected area in the Inner Harbour where the sunken boats were lying and started rescue work at the beginning of May. The team began working to raise the vessels on 5 May, and three boats were lifted in the first five days, but the salvage had to be suspended due to severe rainstorms. The team began lifting the remaining boats on 13 May and located the last vessel yesterday morning.
The bureau has arranged for the boat owners to check the damage to their vessels, and arranged for the owners to take their boats to mainland China for repairs. The bureau also provided sump pumps and other equipment to allow the owners to prevent their vessels from sinking again.
The oil booms and the warning buoys will be removed after workers have cleaned all the oil from the harbour. The DSAMA will assign a hydrographic vessel to the accident scene and its surrounding seafloor for scanning work to ensure there is no other large obstacle to affect navigation, The Macau Post Daily reported.
