Plan to raise Asgard II from watery grave

27th November 2008

A plan to raise Asgard II, which is lying at the bottom of the sea off the French coast, will be presented to the cabinet before Christmas, The Sunday Times reported this week. Willie O'Dea, the defence minister, hopes to commission a salvage company to raise the government's training vessel so that it can be restored. In the Afloat annual also published this week a murky photo of the ship lying on the seabed appears on page 16.

The Sunday Times article by John Mooney says that officials are in negotiations with a specialist firm which submitted a "favourable" tender to raise the ship.

The decision appears to be a popular choice following a poll on afloat.ie where readers voted overwhelmingly in support of a decision to raise her.

If a deal is agreed, the company could raise the vessel from the seabed asearly as next spring, weather and tidal conditions permitting. The operation could be paid for using money from the ship's insurance policy.

Asgard II was covered by Allianz, an international firm, for Euro3.8m. The Department of Defence is confident a full insurance payout would cover the entire cost of the salvage operation and a refit of the vessel if it is successfully refloated.

Click this link for all Afloat's coverage of Asgard II's sinking, and the plans to raise, dive and replace her

Raise the Asgard - Afloat's 2008 online petition

Afloat is compiling Asgard memories. Did you sail on the ship or do you just remember seeing her sailing by? If you would like to share any thoughts please log on to the afloat.ie forum or post a comment below.

Published in Asgard II

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