MS Riverdance
Encyclopedia
The Riverdance was a RORO
ferry formerly in service with Seatruck Ferries
on the Irish Sea
. Riverdance was hit by a wave on the 31 January 2008 which caused her cargo to shift and she was eventually beached at Blackpool
, very close to the border with Cleveleys
. Attempts to refloat her failed, and she was scrapped on site during 2008.
Her normal route was Heysham
- Warrenpoint
. She has a sister ship, the Moondance
, which is currently in service with Seatruck. She was a cargo vessel, but she sometimes carried passengers, under UK maritime law she was able to carry up to 12 passengers.
. In 1993 she was operating in the Irish Sea
, and renamed Sally Eurobridge. In 1994 she was operating in the North Sea
under the name Eurobridge, returning to Sally Eurobridge when the charter ended. In 1995-96 she was on charter to Norfolk Lines under the name Eurobridge again, then chartered to Seatruck and renamed Riverdance, being bought outright in 1997.
On 31 January 2008 at 19:30 the MS Riverdance was "broadsided" by a wave, causing the cargo to shift. At 19:45 the captain issued a Mayday
call. The ship was listing at 60 degrees. At 20:00 the rescue crew at RAF Valley
on Anglesey
was put on standby, being scrambled at 20:20. Liverpool
Coastguard co-ordinated assistance provided to the ship. Helicopter
s from the Irish Coast Guard
, Royal Navy
and Royal Air Force
attended, along with lifeboats from Lytham and Fleetwood
. The Steersman assisted with communications and the support vessels Clwyd Supporter and Highland Sprite were reported to be on their way to assist the ship. Before he was rescued, one of the passengers made an emotional, and what he thought at the time final, mobile phone
call home to his wife. Starting at 21:00, eight people were airlifted from the ship, which later ran aground on Cleveleys
's North Beach, opposite Anchorsholme Lane at around 22:50 (grid ref SD 309 424 53.873182°N 3.052444°W). The place where the Riverdance beached is very close to the remains of the Abana
, and directly above the former Little Bispham underground car park.
The passengers and crew lifted off the ship arrived at Blackpool airport
at 22:00, and two of them were taken to hospital suffering from mild hypothermia
, but were not detained. The passenger who had called his wife was able to call her at 22:30 to say that he was safe. Six further crew members were taken off the vessel after it had run aground. A helicopter from RAF Prestwick
was used for this part of the operation.
The decision to evacuate the remaining nine crew members of the ship was made in the early hours of 1 February. The remaining crew were airlifted off the ship at 04:00 on 1 February. The rescued crew and passengers were either accommodated at a hotel in Lancaster
, or provided with a taxi to take them home.
from RAF Valley
said the wind was gusting between 30 and 70 kn (16.3 and 38.1 ). The position on board ship of the people to be rescued was such that it was the safest for them to be in should the ship roll over, but also the position which made it hardest for the helicopter crew to rescue them from.
Lifeboats from Lytham and Fleetwood attended the scene and were ready to recover any casualties from the sea should the need arise. They also illuminated the ship with their searchlight
s.
at Brighton
in 1980, the Riverdance was a temporary tourist attraction
, with local traders reporting that they were as busy as they would normally be during the Blackpool Illuminations
. The boom lasted for over ten weeks, with the refloating at one time being scheduled to take place in the week commencing 18 February, coinciding with the half-term holiday. Large crowds were expected to view the refloating of the ship. The ship was also expected to bring extra visitors to Blackpool over the Easter weekend. The Tourist Information Centre at Cleveleys reported a large increase in enquiries in the weeks after Riverdance grounded. Local residents complained that the influx of visitors "made their lives hell", raising parking, traffic and litter issues. By early April, the number of visitors coming to see the beached vessel had begun to drop.
The owner of an ice-cream parlour in Cleveleys
prepared a display of photographs of the stricken ferry and used these to raise funds for the Fleetwood
branch of the local RNLI
, in appreciation of their work in rescuing the passengers and crew of the Riverdance. Blackpool Council were reported to be studying the effect that the shipwreck had on tourism in the area, and looking to learn lessons from the event which would help boost tourism in the future. It was estimated that over 100,000 people came to see the Riverdance.
assessed the ship on 2 February,and a 400 metres (437.4 yd) exclusion zone was set up. Liverpool Coastguards warned that refloating the ship would take another two or three days, depending on weather and tide conditions, although another source stated the salvage operation could take weeks. It was estimated that refloating would take place in the second week of February, but this later proved to be over optimistic. The salvage team assembled the equipment needed for the operation to refloat the ship, including a rigid inflatable boat
suitable for use in shallow water. They planned to reduce the list of the ship and pump out the fuel on board. The Riverdance was reported to be "intact".
It was reported that salvage teams had made "good progress" on 4 February. A crane travelled from York on 5 February and lifted equipment onto the ship. The salvage team aimed to reduce the list of the ship and make it more stable. On 4 February, around fifty members of the public ignored the exclusion zone to get close access to the ship. Police and Coastguards admitted they were powerless to prevent the breach of the Government imposed exclusion zone and vowed to step up security to prevent a future recurrence of the incident. The imposition of the exclusion zone on grounds of public safety was proved to be correct when several trucks fell off the ship on the afternoon of 5 February, caused by the ship moving at high tide. The exclusion zone was enforced on 6 February, with police, coastguard and security patrols being used. More of the ship's cargo fell overboard on 6 February. It was reported on 7 February that the salvage operation was going well, and about half of the equipment required for the operation was then aboard. On 8 February, shackles holding the remaining trailers were released, allowing the vehicles on the top deck to fall overboard. The wreckage was cleared by a specialist demolition contractor.
The salvage team removed fuel from the ship. This was done by drilling a hole in the hull of the ship and pumping the fuel out. The process, known as "hot tapping", was expected to take up to a week. A boom was placed around the ship, and defuelling commenced. 18 tonnes of fuel was removed on 11 February and a further 29 tonnes on 12 February. Temporary repairs were made to the ships hull in preparation for refloating. Sightseers continued to breach the exclusion zone, including two jet ski
ers who approached the ship from the sea. The refloating of the ship was scheduled to take place sometime in the week commencing 18 February. Large crowds were expected to witness the event, which would have coincided with the half-term holiday. It was later estimated that the ship would not be refloated for at least another two weeks. All fuel was removed from the tanks, and work was done to ensure the hull was watertight and also to reduce the list of the ship. Over the weekend of 23–24 February, the ship settled further onto its side, listing at 85 degrees. Officials had to prevent people from trying to board the ship. It was revealed that the operation to refloat the vessel could take weeks, although speculation that the ship would be cut up on site was refuted by Smit International, who said they only needed 8 m (26.2 ft) of water to refloat the ship. A 40 ft (12.2 m) diameter accommodation box fell from the ship sometime between the 24 and 27 February.
It was reported that Smit International still intended to refloat to ship. There was a two week period ending 13 March in which to refloat the ship, with the actual refloating being most likely to take place towards the end of that period. Efforts to salvage the ship were hampered by the weather and the position the ship was in. The plan was to put the ship on an even keel on 13 or 14 March, seven weeks after the ship grounded. However, storms with winds of 78 knots (42.5 m/s) meant that plan was abandoned. Refloating was expected to take place about a week after the ship was righted.
On 10 April 2008, it was announced that all attempts to refloat Riverdance had been abandoned and that she was to be scrapped in situ. The contract to dismantle the vessel was awarded to Hancock's Contractors, of Heysham
. The work was expected to take about twelve to fourteen weeks. One of the reasons for the decision was that Riverdance had suffered further structural damage during the storms on 12 March. The damage to Riverdance included damaged propellors and engine, loss of a rudder, the bulwarks destroyed on her starboard side and a lifeboat destroyed.
, the sister ship of the Riverdance, to get an idea of the general construction of the vessel. Dismantling plans included some night working, to the dismay of some local residents. Work commenced in the week beginning 29 April 2008, with an estimate completion date of "the end of June". By early May, the work was underway, with the removal of handrails and the funnel to enable easier access to the interior of the ship. The initial phase of the demolition was expected to take four or five weeks. On 17 May 2008, a fire broke out on two lorries at about 4:20am, causing thirty workers to be evacuated from the vessel. The local fire brigade attended with five appliances and a mobile fire station, but withdrew shortly after due to the rising tide, leaving the fire to burn itself out. The work in connection with the scrapping of Riverdance resumed on 19 May 2008 with the wreck reduced down to the level of the beach by 10 October 2008.
conducted an enquiry into the incident. The final report into the accident was published on 3 September 2009.
'Riverdance' appears in the 2006 film 'Ghosts', directed by Nick Broomfield (based on the 2004 Morecambe Bay cockling disaster
). Chinese immigrant Ai Qin is smuggled from Calais to Dover hidden inside a van aboard the ship.
The salvage operation was the subject of an episode of Salvage: Code Red, a National Geographic Channel
documentary
series.
RORO
Roll-on/roll-off ships are vessels designed to carry wheeled cargo such as automobiles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, trailers or railroad cars that are driven on and off the ship on their own wheels...
ferry formerly in service with Seatruck Ferries
Seatruck Ferries
Seatruck Ferries is a UK based freight-only ferry company which commenced services in 1996. It is part of the Clipper Group, a shipping company based in The Bahamas. The company operates out of five ports on the Irish Sea, including Heysham and Liverpool....
on the Irish Sea
Irish Sea
The Irish Sea separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is connected to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel, and to the Atlantic Ocean in the north by the North Channel. Anglesey is the largest island within the Irish Sea, followed by the Isle of Man...
. Riverdance was hit by a wave on the 31 January 2008 which caused her cargo to shift and she was eventually beached at Blackpool
Blackpool
Blackpool is a borough, seaside town, and unitary authority area of Lancashire, in North West England. It is situated along England's west coast by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre estuaries, northwest of Preston, north of Liverpool, and northwest of Manchester...
, very close to the border with Cleveleys
Cleveleys
Cleveleys is a town on the Fylde Coast of Lancashire, England, about 4 miles north of Blackpool and 2 miles south of Fleetwood...
. Attempts to refloat her failed, and she was scrapped on site during 2008.
Her normal route was Heysham
Heysham
Heysham is a large coastal village near Lancaster in the county of Lancashire, England. Overlooking Morecambe Bay, it is a ferry port with services to the Isle of Man and Ireland. Heysham is the site of two nuclear power stations which are landmarks visible from hills in the surrounding area...
- Warrenpoint
Warrenpoint
Warrenpoint is a small town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies on the northern shore of Carlingford Lough and is separated from the Republic of Ireland by a narrow strait. The town sprang up within the townland of Ringmackilroy...
. She has a sister ship, the Moondance
MS Moondance
-Career:Launched in 1978 as the Emadala, she was chartered by Gilnavi and used on the Genoa - Malta - Pireus - Alexandria route. She was sold to Gilnavi in 1990 and then to Cencargo in 1993 when she was renamed Merchant Victor. She was used on the Heysham - Warrenpoint and Ostend - Ramsgate routes...
, which is currently in service with Seatruck. She was a cargo vessel, but she sometimes carried passengers, under UK maritime law she was able to carry up to 12 passengers.
History
Built as the Mashala in 1977, renamed Halla in 1987, Tikal in 1988 and then Schiaffino in 1989, she operated at first in the Mediterranean and then the CaribbeanCaribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
. In 1993 she was operating in the Irish Sea
Irish Sea
The Irish Sea separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is connected to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel, and to the Atlantic Ocean in the north by the North Channel. Anglesey is the largest island within the Irish Sea, followed by the Isle of Man...
, and renamed Sally Eurobridge. In 1994 she was operating in the North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
under the name Eurobridge, returning to Sally Eurobridge when the charter ended. In 1995-96 she was on charter to Norfolk Lines under the name Eurobridge again, then chartered to Seatruck and renamed Riverdance, being bought outright in 1997.
Shipwreck
Mayday (distress signal)
Mayday is an emergency procedure word used internationally as a distress signal in voice procedure radio communications. It derives from the French venez m'aider, meaning "come help me"....
call. The ship was listing at 60 degrees. At 20:00 the rescue crew at RAF Valley
RAF Valley
RAF Valley is a Royal Air Force station on the island of Anglesey, Wales, and which is also used as Anglesey Airport. It provides fast-jet training using the BAE Hawk and provides training for aircrew working with Search and Rescue. Unofficially the motto for RAF Valley is 'One Valley, Training...
on Anglesey
Anglesey
Anglesey , also known by its Welsh name Ynys Môn , is an island and, as Isle of Anglesey, a county off the north west coast of Wales...
was put on standby, being scrambled at 20:20. Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
Coastguard co-ordinated assistance provided to the ship. Helicopter
Helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
s from the Irish Coast Guard
Irish Coast Guard
The Irish Coast Guard is part of the Department of Transport. The Irish Search and Rescue Region, which includes most of the Republic of Ireland and parts of Northern Ireland is the area over which the coast guard has authority. This area is bounded by the UK Search and Rescue Region...
, Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
and Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
attended, along with lifeboats from Lytham and Fleetwood
Fleetwood
Fleetwood is a town within the Wyre district of Lancashire, England, lying at the northwest corner of the Fylde. It had a population of 26,840 people at the 2001 Census. It forms part of the Greater Blackpool conurbation. The town was the first planned community of the Victorian era...
. The Steersman assisted with communications and the support vessels Clwyd Supporter and Highland Sprite were reported to be on their way to assist the ship. Before he was rescued, one of the passengers made an emotional, and what he thought at the time final, mobile phone
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
call home to his wife. Starting at 21:00, eight people were airlifted from the ship, which later ran aground on Cleveleys
Cleveleys
Cleveleys is a town on the Fylde Coast of Lancashire, England, about 4 miles north of Blackpool and 2 miles south of Fleetwood...
's North Beach, opposite Anchorsholme Lane at around 22:50 (grid ref SD 309 424 53.873182°N 3.052444°W). The place where the Riverdance beached is very close to the remains of the Abana
Abana (barque)
The Abana was a sailing barque wrecked at Blackpool in England on 22 December 1894.-History:Abana was built at Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada in 1874. She was originally homeported at Saint John, New Brunswick. By 1894, she was flying the Norwegian flag.-Loss:The Abana was sailing from Liverpool...
, and directly above the former Little Bispham underground car park.
The passengers and crew lifted off the ship arrived at Blackpool airport
Blackpool Airport
Blackpool International Airport is an international airport on the Fylde coast of Lancashire, England, in the Borough of Fylde, just outside the Borough of Blackpool. It was formerly known as Squires Gate Airport....
at 22:00, and two of them were taken to hospital suffering from mild hypothermia
Hypothermia
Hypothermia is a condition in which core temperature drops below the required temperature for normal metabolism and body functions which is defined as . Body temperature is usually maintained near a constant level of through biologic homeostasis or thermoregulation...
, but were not detained. The passenger who had called his wife was able to call her at 22:30 to say that he was safe. Six further crew members were taken off the vessel after it had run aground. A helicopter from RAF Prestwick
RAF Prestwick
RAF Prestwick is the home of the "Scottish Air Traffic Control Centre ", and is located within the NATS air traffic control facility at Prestwick, in Ayrshire, Scotland....
was used for this part of the operation.
The decision to evacuate the remaining nine crew members of the ship was made in the early hours of 1 February. The remaining crew were airlifted off the ship at 04:00 on 1 February. The rescued crew and passengers were either accommodated at a hotel in Lancaster
Lancaster, Lancashire
Lancaster is the county town of Lancashire, England. It is situated on the River Lune and has a population of 45,952. Lancaster is a constituent settlement of the wider City of Lancaster, local government district which has a population of 133,914 and encompasses several outlying towns, including...
, or provided with a taxi to take them home.
The rescue
Rescue crews involved in the incident described the weather as "some of the worst we've ever seen". The crew of the helicopterHelicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
from RAF Valley
RAF Valley
RAF Valley is a Royal Air Force station on the island of Anglesey, Wales, and which is also used as Anglesey Airport. It provides fast-jet training using the BAE Hawk and provides training for aircrew working with Search and Rescue. Unofficially the motto for RAF Valley is 'One Valley, Training...
said the wind was gusting between 30 and 70 kn (16.3 and 38.1 ). The position on board ship of the people to be rescued was such that it was the safest for them to be in should the ship roll over, but also the position which made it hardest for the helicopter crew to rescue them from.
Lifeboats from Lytham and Fleetwood attended the scene and were ready to recover any casualties from the sea should the need arise. They also illuminated the ship with their searchlight
Searchlight
A searchlight is an apparatus that combines a bright light source with some form of curved reflector or other optics to project a powerful beam of light of approximately parallel rays in a particular direction, usually constructed so that it can be swiveled about.-Military use:The Royal Navy used...
s.
Aftermath
Like the Athina BMS Athina B
The Athina B was a ship that ended up beached to the east of the Palace Pier in the English seaside resort of Brighton on 21 January 1980. It was a temporary tourist attraction, with the Volk's Electric Railway opening up to cash in on the large number of sightseers...
at Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
in 1980, the Riverdance was a temporary tourist attraction
Tourist attraction
A tourist attraction is a place of interest where tourists visit, typically for its inherent or exhibited cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, or amusement opportunities....
, with local traders reporting that they were as busy as they would normally be during the Blackpool Illuminations
Blackpool Illuminations
Blackpool Illuminations is an annual Lights Festival, founded in 1879 and first switched on 18 September that year, held each autumn in the English seaside resort of Blackpool on the Fylde Coast in Lancashire....
. The boom lasted for over ten weeks, with the refloating at one time being scheduled to take place in the week commencing 18 February, coinciding with the half-term holiday. Large crowds were expected to view the refloating of the ship. The ship was also expected to bring extra visitors to Blackpool over the Easter weekend. The Tourist Information Centre at Cleveleys reported a large increase in enquiries in the weeks after Riverdance grounded. Local residents complained that the influx of visitors "made their lives hell", raising parking, traffic and litter issues. By early April, the number of visitors coming to see the beached vessel had begun to drop.
The owner of an ice-cream parlour in Cleveleys
Cleveleys
Cleveleys is a town on the Fylde Coast of Lancashire, England, about 4 miles north of Blackpool and 2 miles south of Fleetwood...
prepared a display of photographs of the stricken ferry and used these to raise funds for the Fleetwood
Fleetwood
Fleetwood is a town within the Wyre district of Lancashire, England, lying at the northwest corner of the Fylde. It had a population of 26,840 people at the 2001 Census. It forms part of the Greater Blackpool conurbation. The town was the first planned community of the Victorian era...
branch of the local RNLI
Royal National Lifeboat Institution
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution is a charity that saves lives at sea around the coasts of Great Britain, Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, as well as on selected inland waterways....
, in appreciation of their work in rescuing the passengers and crew of the Riverdance. Blackpool Council were reported to be studying the effect that the shipwreck had on tourism in the area, and looking to learn lessons from the event which would help boost tourism in the future. It was estimated that over 100,000 people came to see the Riverdance.
Awards
The crew of the helicopter from RAF Valley involved in the rescue were given the 2008 Defence Helicopter SAR award for their part in the rescue operation. The crew were Flight Lieutenant Lee Turner, Flight Lieutenant Giles Ratcliffe, Sergeant John Stevens and MACR Rich Taylor.Salvage
It had initially been hoped to recover the vessel and return her to service. However, the eventual outcome was that Riverdance was scrapped on site during 2008.Preparation
Coastguards monitored the ship, which was carrying 150 tonnes of fuel oil. An attempt to refloat the ship was to have been made at high tide, due at 18:00 on 1 February, but it was later announced that no attempt would be made to refloat the ship that day. A salvage team from Smit InternationalSmit International
Smit Internationale N.V. is a Dutch company operating in the maritime sector. The company was founded in 1842 by Fop Smit as a towage company with only the 140 hp paddle steamer tug 'Kinderdijk'....
assessed the ship on 2 February,and a 400 metres (437.4 yd) exclusion zone was set up. Liverpool Coastguards warned that refloating the ship would take another two or three days, depending on weather and tide conditions, although another source stated the salvage operation could take weeks. It was estimated that refloating would take place in the second week of February, but this later proved to be over optimistic. The salvage team assembled the equipment needed for the operation to refloat the ship, including a rigid inflatable boat
Rigid-hulled inflatable boat
A rigid-hulled inflatable boat, or rigid-inflatable boat is a light-weight but high-performance and high-capacity boat constructed with a solid, shaped hull and flexible tubes at the gunwale. The design is stable and seaworthy...
suitable for use in shallow water. They planned to reduce the list of the ship and pump out the fuel on board. The Riverdance was reported to be "intact".
It was reported that salvage teams had made "good progress" on 4 February. A crane travelled from York on 5 February and lifted equipment onto the ship. The salvage team aimed to reduce the list of the ship and make it more stable. On 4 February, around fifty members of the public ignored the exclusion zone to get close access to the ship. Police and Coastguards admitted they were powerless to prevent the breach of the Government imposed exclusion zone and vowed to step up security to prevent a future recurrence of the incident. The imposition of the exclusion zone on grounds of public safety was proved to be correct when several trucks fell off the ship on the afternoon of 5 February, caused by the ship moving at high tide. The exclusion zone was enforced on 6 February, with police, coastguard and security patrols being used. More of the ship's cargo fell overboard on 6 February. It was reported on 7 February that the salvage operation was going well, and about half of the equipment required for the operation was then aboard. On 8 February, shackles holding the remaining trailers were released, allowing the vehicles on the top deck to fall overboard. The wreckage was cleared by a specialist demolition contractor.
The salvage team removed fuel from the ship. This was done by drilling a hole in the hull of the ship and pumping the fuel out. The process, known as "hot tapping", was expected to take up to a week. A boom was placed around the ship, and defuelling commenced. 18 tonnes of fuel was removed on 11 February and a further 29 tonnes on 12 February. Temporary repairs were made to the ships hull in preparation for refloating. Sightseers continued to breach the exclusion zone, including two jet ski
Jet ski
Jet Ski is the brand name of a personal watercraft manufactured by Kawasaki Heavy Industries. The name is sometimes mistakenly used by those unfamiliar with the personal watercraft industry to refer to any type of personal watercraft; however, the name is a valid trademark registered with the...
ers who approached the ship from the sea. The refloating of the ship was scheduled to take place sometime in the week commencing 18 February. Large crowds were expected to witness the event, which would have coincided with the half-term holiday. It was later estimated that the ship would not be refloated for at least another two weeks. All fuel was removed from the tanks, and work was done to ensure the hull was watertight and also to reduce the list of the ship. Over the weekend of 23–24 February, the ship settled further onto its side, listing at 85 degrees. Officials had to prevent people from trying to board the ship. It was revealed that the operation to refloat the vessel could take weeks, although speculation that the ship would be cut up on site was refuted by Smit International, who said they only needed 8 m (26.2 ft) of water to refloat the ship. A 40 ft (12.2 m) diameter accommodation box fell from the ship sometime between the 24 and 27 February.
It was reported that Smit International still intended to refloat to ship. There was a two week period ending 13 March in which to refloat the ship, with the actual refloating being most likely to take place towards the end of that period. Efforts to salvage the ship were hampered by the weather and the position the ship was in. The plan was to put the ship on an even keel on 13 or 14 March, seven weeks after the ship grounded. However, storms with winds of 78 knots (42.5 m/s) meant that plan was abandoned. Refloating was expected to take place about a week after the ship was righted.
Recovery attempts
A trench was dug in the sand alongside the ship, which had been made watertight. Four 20-tonne containers were placed on the port side of the ship, and water was to be pumped from the starboard to port tanks in an effort to right the ship. No date was set for the operation, due to the strong winds at the time. Once the ship was righted, it was then expected to take several weeks to refloat her. Attempts to right the Riverdance were abandoned on 12 March after storms battered her with 78 knots (152.9 km/h) winds, causing her to sink further into the sand and the list to increase to 100 degrees. The salvage plan was re-evaluated early in the week commencing 17 March. Meanwhile, work continued to reduce the threat of pollution from the vessel and clearing up any wreckage that was deposited from the vessel. A meeting took place on 20 March between the salvors, insurers and owners of the ship to discuss options for salvaging the Riverdance. One option considered was to scrap the Riverdance on site. On 21 March 2008, it was revealed that Riverdance had been declared a "constructive loss" due to further damage that had been inflicted by the storms earlier in the month. The preferred option was to refloat her and remove her by sea, but she would be cut up on site if the refloating operation failed. The plan was to use mechanical winches to haul the vessel upright, rather than relying upon flotation devices.On 10 April 2008, it was announced that all attempts to refloat Riverdance had been abandoned and that she was to be scrapped in situ. The contract to dismantle the vessel was awarded to Hancock's Contractors, of Heysham
Heysham
Heysham is a large coastal village near Lancaster in the county of Lancashire, England. Overlooking Morecambe Bay, it is a ferry port with services to the Isle of Man and Ireland. Heysham is the site of two nuclear power stations which are landmarks visible from hills in the surrounding area...
. The work was expected to take about twelve to fourteen weeks. One of the reasons for the decision was that Riverdance had suffered further structural damage during the storms on 12 March. The damage to Riverdance included damaged propellors and engine, loss of a rudder, the bulwarks destroyed on her starboard side and a lifeboat destroyed.
Scrapping
The scrapping of Riverdance was carried out by Hancock's Contractors of Heysham, with initial work to remove the remaining fuel, oil and cargo from the vessel. Hancock's took control of the site on 14 April 2008. Contractors inspected the MoondanceMS Moondance
-Career:Launched in 1978 as the Emadala, she was chartered by Gilnavi and used on the Genoa - Malta - Pireus - Alexandria route. She was sold to Gilnavi in 1990 and then to Cencargo in 1993 when she was renamed Merchant Victor. She was used on the Heysham - Warrenpoint and Ostend - Ramsgate routes...
, the sister ship of the Riverdance, to get an idea of the general construction of the vessel. Dismantling plans included some night working, to the dismay of some local residents. Work commenced in the week beginning 29 April 2008, with an estimate completion date of "the end of June". By early May, the work was underway, with the removal of handrails and the funnel to enable easier access to the interior of the ship. The initial phase of the demolition was expected to take four or five weeks. On 17 May 2008, a fire broke out on two lorries at about 4:20am, causing thirty workers to be evacuated from the vessel. The local fire brigade attended with five appliances and a mobile fire station, but withdrew shortly after due to the rising tide, leaving the fire to burn itself out. The work in connection with the scrapping of Riverdance resumed on 19 May 2008 with the wreck reduced down to the level of the beach by 10 October 2008.
Investigation
The Marine Accident Investigation BranchMarine Accident Investigation Branch
The Marine Accident Investigation Branch established in 1989 following the Herald of Free Enterprise disaster is a branch of the United Kingdom Department for Transport which can investigate any accident occurring in UK waters, regardless of the nationality of the vessel involved, and accidents...
conducted an enquiry into the incident. The final report into the accident was published on 3 September 2009.
Culture and media
Riverdance featured in the video for the song Explosion by the German band Fotos.'Riverdance' appears in the 2006 film 'Ghosts', directed by Nick Broomfield (based on the 2004 Morecambe Bay cockling disaster
2004 Morecambe Bay cockling disaster
The Morecambe Bay cockling disaster occurred on the evening of 5 February 2004 at Morecambe Bay in North West England, when at least 21 cockle pickers were drowned by an incoming tide off the Lancashire/Cumbrian coast....
). Chinese immigrant Ai Qin is smuggled from Calais to Dover hidden inside a van aboard the ship.
The salvage operation was the subject of an episode of Salvage: Code Red, a National Geographic Channel
National Geographic Channel
National Geographic Channel, also commercially abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo, is a subscription television channel that airs non-fiction television programs produced by the National Geographic Society. Like History and the Discovery Channel, the channel features documentaries with factual...
documentary
Documentary
A documentary is a creative work of non-fiction, including:* Documentary film, including television* Radio documentary* Documentary photographyRelated terms include:...
series.
External links
- Fortunes de Mer Webpage dedicated to this casualty.
- Yahoo news report
- M/S Mashala in Swedish.
- BBC News Image gallery
- Exploring the wreck Photos and story
- Blackpool Gazette - rescue crews story
- Gallery Blackpool Gazette pictures
- BBC Lancashire Photos of stranded ship.
- Miramar Ship Index: Riverdance
- Blackpool Gazette Shipwreck feature.
- Blackpool Gazette Photo gallery.
- Ships Nostalgia thread about the Riverdnce
- Riverdance, 17 April 2008.
- complete ship details