Richard Montgomery - Who's got a chainsaw?

Thought I saw this on the notoriously untrustworthy 'KentOnline' about 2 weeks ago. Apparently there was (I think) £3m offered as a bounty to any contractor brave enough to take it on.

I've got a boat and a battery powered angle grinder.....
 
The masts, as they rust, will, at some point in the future, snap off due to wave and tide action which might be risky. Better to remove them before that happens.
Replace the yellow buoys with a conspicuous IDM. It's the way forward.
 
xyachtdave said:
Thought I saw this on the notoriously untrustworthy 'KentOnline' about 2 weeks ago. Apparently there was (I think) £3m offered as a bounty to any contractor brave enough to take it on.

I've got a boat and a battery powered angle grinder.....
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Coor, just think of the £5M they offered. After expenses, think of the yacht you could buy.
 
Surely it just needs a floating crane barge, and a couple of commercial divers to cut the masts with a gas axe? Plus associated workboats etc.
One problem might be mooring the barge, because of the risk of chains sweeping the wreck.
 
Ohlin Karcher said:
Surely it just needs a floating crane barge, and a couple of commercial divers to cut the masts with a gas axe? Plus associated workboats etc.
One problem might be mooring the barge, because of the risk of chains sweeping the wreck.
Click to expand...
I suspect that most commercial operators would refuse the job because it would breach their employers liability insurance. Hence the high price, to cover inflated insurance premiums.

The problem is that no-one really knows what the danger is. Most experts believe that the fuses and detonators will have long ago dissolved and be inactive, and the bulk explosive is actually pretty inert; it won't go off without being initiated by a detonation. I've handled explosives - dynamite doesn't bother me; it's very safe stuff, and you can throw it around all day quite safely - and the same goes for any bulk explosive; in munitions, it's rather important that the filling of shells is not sensitive to shock; it would go off in the barrel of the gun if it was! But I'm terrified of detonators; nasty unstable things just waiting to blow your hand off if you mistreat them! However, there are two confounding factors - the bulk explosive could have deteriorated to a more sensitive state, and it would only take one fuse or detonator to set off a chain reaction.

In risk management terms, it's extremely high hazard, medium risk. In other words, if it did go off it would be catastrophic, potentially involving loss of life and damage over a large area. It's medium risk, because you can't say it won't go off, but experts reckon it is unlikely. In such a case, any manager would be looking for ways to reduce both the hazard and the risk. But there isn't really a way to mitigate the hazard - if it goes off, 1000+ tons of explosive will create an enormous blast that will be destructive over a wide area. The risk can be reduced, but will involve using methods to ensure that NO vibration or shocks are transmitted to the cargo holds, and that nothing can be dropped onto the hull while cutting. The chain saw in the thread title would be a no-no! But the best you could hope for would still be high hazard, low risk. Under those circumstances, I can see insurance being the biggest part of the cost, if you could find an underwriter to take the risk on.
 
AntarcticPilot said:
I suspect that most commercial operators would refuse the job because it would breach their employers liability insurance. Hence the high price, to cover inflated insurance premiums.

The problem is that no-one really knows what the danger is. Most experts believe that the fuses and detonators will have long ago dissolved and be inactive, and the bulk explosive is actually pretty inert; it won't go off without being initiated by a detonation. I've handled explosives - dynamite doesn't bother me; it's very safe stuff, and you can throw it around all day quite safely - and the same goes for any bulk explosive; in munitions, it's rather important that the filling of shells is not sensitive to shock; it would go off in the barrel of the gun if it was! But I'm terrified of detonators; nasty unstable things just waiting to blow your hand off if you mistreat them! However, there are two confounding factors - the bulk explosive could have deteriorated to a more sensitive state, and it would only take one fuse or detonator to set off a chain reaction.

In risk management terms, it's extremely high hazard, medium risk. In other words, if it did go off it would be catastrophic, potentially involving loss of life and damage over a large area. It's medium risk, because you can't say it won't go off, but experts reckon it is unlikely. In such a case, any manager would be looking for ways to reduce both the hazard and the risk. But there isn't really a way to mitigate the hazard - if it goes off, 1000+ tons of explosive will create an enormous blast that will be destructive over a wide area. The risk can be reduced, but will involve using methods to ensure that NO vibration or shocks are transmitted to the cargo holds, and that nothing can be dropped onto the hull while cutting. The chain saw in the thread title would be a no-no! But the best you could hope for would still be high hazard, low risk. Under those circumstances, I can see insurance being the biggest part of the cost, if you could find an underwriter to take the risk on.
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That's very illuminating AP, many thanks.
 
I can see a way to do it; you need a small shallow draft offshore crane ship with a heave compensating crane, probably on an anchor pattern rather than DP as a drive off in the wrong direction could spoil your whole day.

1. Calculate the weight of the mast.
2. Put a couple of strops round it and take up a load equal to the calculated weight.
3. Gas axe it from a bosun’s chair.

Since the North Sea doesn’t need small shallow draft crane ships the cost is probably in the mobilisation.
 
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