TA: Wrecked ship in Fuvahmulah kept afloat with use of pumps

Transport Authority reports that the cargo ship which wrecked on the reef of Gn. Fuvahmulah while carrying construction material to build water and sewerage systems in the island had large holes at the bottom, and was kept afloat with the aid of pumps.

The Vietnamese cargo ship MV NGOC Sun was removed from the reef on September 15, a month after it first wrecked on the reef.

The Singaporean salvage company hired for the tugboat had bought in tugboats, but the 5,700 tons of construction material the ship was carrying proved to be too much. And some of the material was thrown overboard before the ship was finally removed.

Chairman of Transport Authority, Abdul Rasheed Nafiz reported that it wasn’t clear whether the entire bottom of the ship had given in. But that holes at the bottom of the ship meant that it was later kept afloat with the aid of pumps.

Nafiz said that the ship would be allowed to leave as soon as it pays for the damage to the reef.

The cargo ship wrecked on the reef of Fuvahmulah on August 13.