AAL Shipping (AAL) has undertaken a salvage operation to remove two tugs from the Mersey River in Devonport on the northwest coast of Tasmania that had been sunk by a cement carrier in January.

The breakbulk, project heavy lift, steel and dry bulk commodity carrier said the AAL Melbourne —  a 31,000DWT 700 tonne heavy lift vessel — was chosen for the project which involved the lifting of the tugs and their onward shipment along the East Coast to Brisbane.

New South Wales-based emergency response, salvage and environmental support specialist, United Salvage, engaged AAL to supply a vessel from its longstanding ‘Asia to Australia East Coast Liner Service’.

The first tug, the 420-tonne York Cove, was carefully pulled out of the Mersey on August 7 by the AAL Melbourne using her two port-mounted cranes working in tandem —  the tug having had large holes cut into her hull to allow trapped water and sediment to drain.

The second tug, the 455-tonne Campbell Cove, was recovered and loaded onto the AAL Melbourne a few days later.

AAL noted that both tugs were securely lashed to the weather deck of the 'mega size' vessel in preparation for their onward shipment to Brisbane and utilising specifically designed cradles loaded previously in Burnie.

"United Salvage originally planned to use a floating crane and barge to recover these tugs. However, once we demonstrated that our A-Class vessel could not only recover the tugs but also transport them back up the East Coast for delivery to Brisbane, it was clear that AAL would be the perfect partner," said Chris Yabsley, chartering manager at AAL Australia.