Hopes of raising BOURBON DOLPHIN dashed
Gard P&I say they cant cover cost even if technically possible

Insurance club Gard P&I issued a statement recently that dealt a blow to any hopes of raising the sunken BOURBON DOLPHIN.

The Norwegian club said that they wished to do all they could to offer assistance and support to the grieving families of the victims of the tragedy, but after consultation with London Offshore Consultants the conclusion was that technically it is 'extremely uncertain' if it would be possible to recover the ship.

She lies in about 1100 metres of water and the club's consultants said that the deepest lcoation of any recovered vessel so far has been 600 metres, and that was a much smaller and lighter ship that the DOLPHIN.

Other negative factors were the extreme conditions in the location, including difficult wind, wave and current conditions and the unknown condition of the vessel. It was possible her hull had suffered serious damage and she may be partly submerged on the seabed.

The consultants concluded that any method that could be attempted would be by its very nature untried and would require 'a significant period of time for research, engineering and planning'

The vessel appeared not to pose a danger to shipping or the environment, therefore the state would not be ordering its removal. Without such an order, Gard could not cover the costs to raise the BOURBON DOLPHIN, even if it were technically possible.