Giant cranes prepare for salvage operations

By Kang Seung-woo, Yoon Sung-won

JINDO ― Four floating giant cranes arrived at the site of the sunken ferry Sewol on Friday to begin salvage efforts.

According to the Coast Guard, there are two 3,600-ton and two 2,000-ton cranes waiting for a call near the scene to lift the passenger ship out of the water off the country’s southwestern coast.

After righting the capsized ferry, the Coast Guard plans to link chains from the cranes to hoist up the ship.

Although the Sewol is a 6,800-ton class ferry, it carried vehicles and freight along with 476 passengers, likely making the salvage effort more difficult.

Once the ferry is lifted out of the water, officials will focus on emptying the water inside before transporting it.

During the process, rescuers will consider using a floating dock to set the ship afloat. The floating dock that Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries owns is believed to be more effective than a barge to transport the sunken ship.

In addition, an 8,000-ton crane, the nation’s largest floating crane, was also dispatched from Geoje to support the operation and is expected to arrive on Sunday.

Although the salvage plan is all set, it remains to be seen if the operation will be carried out immediately because of the potential survivors who might still be trapped inside the ferry.

“We are reviewing the options very carefully, as the salvage operations may hurt survivors trapped inside,” a Coast Guard officer said.

“When all passengers are confirmed alive or dead, the recovery work will be able to start.”

In addition, the inexperience of the crane operators on such a large-scale salvage operation may pose a stumbling block in trying to take the Sewol out of the water.

The operation is expected to be more difficult than the recovery of the naval ship Cheonan which sunk in 2010 after being blown into two pieces by a North Korean torpedo.