Castillo de Salas
The Castillo de Salas was waiting outside the harbour, when she ran aground during a violent storm and broke in two. The bow part was refloated, towed away and sank to a great depth.
Refloating of the Castillo de Salas
(source: www.elcomerciodigital.com)
The stern part
was removed piece by piece, after it had been in part demolished
by the sea. The bunker fuel, stored in the double bottom of the
ship, had to be pumped out. The regional authorities asked for the
wreck to remain on the seabed, in order to be used as an artificial
reef for marine flora and fauna.
In 2000, fuel began to arrive on the coast, and it was deduced that
the pumping of the tanks had not been completed properly. A new
pumping operation, with divers working inside the tanks, had to
be implemented in 2001 and 2002, resulting in the recovery of 250
and 150 tonnes of fuel respectively. A risk analysis showed that
there remained no quantifiable hazard, however the ballast tanks
presented a consistent environmental and social problem. The double
bottom was therefore cut out, removed piece by piece and disposed
of on land in 2003.
Cutting out of the double bottom and hoisting the wreck on land
(source: Salvamento Maritimo)
Name: Castillo de Salas
Date: 11 January 1986
Location: Spain
Accident area: off the coast of Gijón
Ship type: bulk carrier
Date built: 1980
Flag: Spanish
Type of pollutant: coal and bunker fuel
Quantity transported: 100,000 tonnes of coal
Quantity spilled: 100,000 tonnes of coal
Cause of spill: grounding
See also
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Last update: April 2006