Heavy seas slow efforts to re-float Maersk box ship aground near Valencia

COSTS are soaring as salvage teams fight to refloat Maersk's 6,264-ton Celia and the 5,988-ton general cargo ship BSLE Sunrise, which broke from their anchorages in a storm and ran aground on a beach near Valencia, reports London's Containerisation International.

Maersk's 645-TEU Celia, laden with empties, and the BSLE Sunrise, carrying steel pipes have been stuck since the end of September. Dredgers have attempted to dig out a channel around to refloat them, but bad weather and heavy seas have curtailed operations.

Salvors have been digging trenches, reports Lloyds List Intelligence, adding that the dredger Los Olivillos has removed 7,200 cubic metres of sand. Trenches are said to be 150 metres long, 30 metres wide and 5.5 metres deep.

Salvage operations have reportedly exceeded EUR250,000 (US$327,331), a sum likely to rise and will likely result in General Average being declared, said CI.