Irving Whale sank in the Gulf of St. Lawrence north of
Prince Edward Island Salvagers had only a brief weather
window available in which to operate.

     Twenty-six years after the 270-foot oil barge Irving Whale sank, she was underway again in late July on a 70-minute, 220-foot voyage from the bottom of the Gulf of St. Lawrence to the surface.

     Irving Whale sank during a September storm in 1970, 37 miles north of Prince Edward Island, off the east coast of Canada. The sinking has been attributed to two possible causes: accumulation of sea water in the aft end of the cargo bin or an engine room that had flooded through a hatch. Irving Whale sank stern first in three hours, a gradual sinking that was apparent from the lack of structural damage found by her eventual salvors. The never-quite-forgotten wreck was finally brought to the surface this past summer with the assistance of salvage professionals from Donjon Marine, McAllister Towing & Salvage and the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG).

     Irving Whale was filled with more than 4,000 tons of thick, molasses-like Bunker C oil and 7.2 tons of heating oil, containing highly carcinogenic PCBs that were used to keep the Bunker C from congealing while being transported. At the time of the recovery, an estimated 3,100 tons of oil remained on board.

     Following the sinking, the oil congealed because of the cold water temperature, and the leakage was minimal. A submersible vessel made a visual inspection of the barge, and oil was seen leaking from cargo tank relief valves. Divers secured the vents and hatch covers, but no attempt was made to salvage Irving Whale or its cargo.

     CCG ships and aircraft have conducted regular surveillance of the area since the sinking. In 1989 and 1990, two detailed inspections of the barge were initiated by Transport Canada using divers and remote-operated underwater vehicles (ROUWV). Irving Whale was estimated to be leaking roughly 21 gallons of oil a day. Canadian government officials, environrnentalists and fishermen were concerned about the threat from the leaking oil to Canada's rich fishing grounds nearby. After careful study, Canadian officials determined the best course of action was to raise Irving Whale.


Long-submerged barge Irving Whale rises to the surface
in center of photo beneath lifting trusses on
Donjon Marine's Boabarge 9 at right.

     Before competitive bidding began, the CCG conducted a thorough survey of Irving Whale. Their findings were presented to companies bidding on the salvage job. The package consisted of a video of the barge on the ocean floor, results from tests to determine the thickness and condition of the hull, a detailed map of the surrounding area to see if there were any large rocks in the area that could have punctured the hull, vessel history and cargo history.

     Canadian officials awarded the contract in July 1995 to a joint venture between Donjon Marine, from Hillside, N.J., and McAllister Towing & Salvage of Montreal. The total estimated costwas $12.1 million.

     "We felt like we got the contract not just because of price, but because we had successfully done a job like this before," said John Witte, Jr., executive vice president of Donjon Marine.

     Donjon/McAllister went right to work. In July 1995, divers began preparatory work on Irving Whale and the surrounding area. Timing was critical for this job because of the narrow window of favorable weather in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

     "The weather is really unpredictable up there," Witte said. "You get very little lee when you're working that far out in the ocean."

     However,weather was not the only factor affecting the salvage of Irving Whale. The operation was now front-page news across Canada, especially after the Canadian government announced the presence of PCBs on board in July 1995. A request for an injunction was filed in a Federal Court in Montreal by Canadian environmental groups. Subsequent political developments caused postponements, to the extent that the Donjon and McAllister team and Canadian government Officials decided to postpone the operation until July 1996.

     The delay didn't have a big effect on Donjon/McAllister. Their plans were in place, and all they needed was some favorable weather and a few legal green lights. The postponement did allow them plenty of time to marshal their equipment. They added Boabarge 9, an oceangoing deck cargo barge, that along with Donjon's shearleg derrick barge, Chesapeake, was used to lift Irving Whale to the surface. Boabarge 9 was also used as the diving support vessel. Ocean Foxtrot, a diving support vessel served as a support vessel for Boabarge 9. It acted as a tug and handled the four 30,000-pound anchors used to moor Boabarge 9. Other vessels used in the operation were CCGS Sir William Alexander, a Canadian icebreaker that served as the command vessel; Boabarge 10, a 400-foot semisubmersible oceangoing barge that transported the Irving Whale to Halifax after it was raised; Atlantic Salvor, Donjon Marine's towing and salvage support vessel; and CCGS Earl Grey and CCGS Mary Hichens, on scene to handle any oil spills. Mary Hichens also escorted the Boabarge 10 with the Irving Whale back to Halifax.

     Small craft were used for various jobs such as transportation to and from the scene. All totaled, 19 vessels were a part of the recovery flotilla.

     After seemingly endless public hearings and studies, Donjon/McAllister was cleared to start the raising Irving Whale. The operation began in late June with J. Arnold Witte, president of Donjon Marine, serving as project manager and chief salvage officer and William Kratz serving as salvage master. CCG Capt. Bill Dancer was on-site commander of the project. J. Arnold Witte also took part in public hearings about the project and addressed people's fears in the months before the recovery.

     Irving Whale was in good condition. Studies done in 1990 estimated that the hull had deteriorated by about five percent. Weight added by silting was not a major concern because barges have fewer spaces for build-up. Divers did have to perform some minor repair.

     "We had to patch a couple of small areas, but otherwise, from a salvor's perspective, she was structurally sound. She wasn't Swiss cheese," Witte said.

     The first and most time-consuming part of the operation was welding 28 doubling plates to Irving Whal's hull, which took about 14 work days. These plates reinforced the hull and prevented lifting slings from cutting or chafing the hull during lifting.

     Because of the 220-foot depth, divers lived at depth for the duration of the operation. Decompression after one dive at that depth requires two days. "This was a deep-saturation dive. We had three two-diver teams living at depth for over a month in a habitat. It's not roomy, but it's functional," Witte said. "By living at depth, we didn't have to worry about decompression. This allowed divers to work eight-hour shifts and for the work to go on 24 hours a day. They also used hot-water suits to protect them from the near freezing water." Divers were lowered to Irving Whale in a diving bell.

     Next, lifting slings had to be precisely placed, a project that took five days to accomplish. The slings were specially designed for this job and made of braided steel. Two slings, one under the bow and one under the stern, were needed to lift the barge. To pass the sling under the bow, divers jetted a tunnel under the barge using high-pressure water.

     When the tunnel was completed, a small wire was passed through the tunnel and connected to the larger wire and tightened up, we started lifting. The weather was good, and we got the slings in place about 6 a.m., so there was no reason to wait," Witte said.


Irving Whale, still loaded with about 3,100 tons of oil, is
maneuvered into dry-dock in Halifax, Nova Scotia, after being
raised from the ocean floor. She is shown here being assisted by
the tug Point halifax of Eastern Canada Towing, Halifax.

     Irving Whale was suspended on the slings between Chesapeake and Boabarge 9. After the barge was hfted six feet off the bottom, a ROUWV checked the bottom for damage; when none was found, the lift resumed. The ROUWV continued to monitor to condition of the barge as it rose from the bottom, paying particular attention to the slings to make sure they weren't chafing or cutting into the barge.

     The lift continued as planned and Irving Whale broke surface 70 minutes after the lift started. Salvors immediately went to work dewatering voids to increase Irving Whale's buoyancy.

     Boabarge 10 was already submerged and waiting to maneuver underneath Irving Whale. However, Irving Whale was more seaworthy than expected and the seas were calm, so salvors eased the slings and let the barge float. Irving Whale itself was maneuvered in place over Boabarge 10.

     Boabarge 10 fully refloated and began the voyage back to Halifax with Irving Whale securely in place. A small amount of oil spilled when Irving Whale reached the surface, but it was expected and quickly contained. Most of the oil spilled was determined to have come from on-deck machinery and not the cargo holds.

     With Irving Whale successfully recovered, the focus of the operation turned to site remediation. Divers began the seven-day job of removing the possibly PCB-contaminated ocean floor to a barge on the surface.

     The divers used a four-inch hose a with a six-inch discharge. A four-inch hose was used to make it easier for divers at the ocean floor to handle. Air was injected at the bottom of the hose, and the resulting suction created by the rising air drew the soil off the ocean bottom.

     The CCG provided a tank barge for recovered material, which was to be tested and then disposed of properly.

     When Irving Whale was safely in a Halifax dry-dock and the site remediation complete, the men and women of the Canadian Coast Guard, Donjon Marine, McAllister Towing & Salvage, various environmental groups and the Canadian fishing industry breathed a collective sigh of relief.

     "At the end of the day, from an operational standpoint, things went extremely well," said Capt. Dancer. "Things were done according to plan and went according to plan. All of the difficulties were minor. It was a good team effort by everyone who was concerned."

     Witte agreed. "We'd done this type of job before and we felt very comfortable with the operation, very comfortable with the equipment and very comfortable with the people," he said. "The experience of people overcomes short-falls in equipment. It was a total team effort."

Professional Mariner
October/November 1996