The wreck elimination of the Dutch freighter MV Flinterstar is underway within the North Sea off Belgium with salvage crews efficiently lifting the bow part from the seabed earlier this week.

The operation to take away the wreck has been ongoing for the previous 10 weeks as a consortium of Belgian marine contractors ready the wreck for the lifting operation and mobilized tools.

You could recall the MV Flinterstar sank after colliding with the Marshall Islands-flagged LNG provider Al-Oraiq off the coast of Zeebrugge, Belgium on October 6, 2015, finally coming to relaxation just under the floor in an upright place. The ship was declared a complete loss and, after an operation to take away any remaining oil, the authorities ordered the total elimination of the wreck because it posed a hazard to transport and the surroundings.

For the elimination operation, the consortium used the three,300 tonne heavy elevate crane barge Rambiz to elevate the bow part and place it onto a barge for disposal.

The consortium is be headed by SCALDIS, a joint firm of DEME, Jan De Nul and Herbosch-Kiere.

“After being awarded the contract in April 2016, we immediately started the preparations and the mobilisation of the equipment to ensure a rapid response,” stated Marc Voorhuis, Director at Scaldis. “Removing the cargo from the hold was the first step, whilst in parallel lifting chains were attached to the bow section of the Flinterstar. On 27 June 2016 all preparatory operations were finished and the lifting commenced.”

The stern of the ship is deliberate to be lifted and eliminated in August 2016.