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Grand Mariana in process of removal
Imperial Pacific International (CNMI) LLC has hired a salvage company to remove its yacht Grand Mariana that has been aground near Micro Beach since Super Typhoon Yutu.
According to Lt. Bill Fitzgerald, supervisor of the Marine Safety Detachment for the CNMI under the U.S. Coast Guard sector Guam, IPI has decided to salvage the yacht and hired Resolve Marine Group, a salvage company, over two weeks ago for the project.
Currently, Resolve is in the process of installing inflatable bags beneath the vessel to lift it up from the water so the company can pull it out to place it on another boat to remove it from the reef.
Fitzgerald said it could take a couple more days before the yacht is completely removed from the reef and the MSD is still conducting further investigation on the yacht to see if there are any citations to give.
Fitzgerald said it is important to remove the Grand Mariana to avoid potential or ongoing oil spills and so it is no longer a hazard to ships and boats that are navigating near the area.
Fitzgerald explained that the Coast Guard is responsible for ensuring that the vessel is not hazardous to marine life and that IPI is being responsible by cleaning up any pollution from the vessel.
“That was done several months ago so as much pollution as we could get off, we removed from the vessel already, and now we’ve returned the responsibility back to the owner,” he said.
Due to the hazardous seas and strong waves during Super Typhoon Yutu back in October 2018, the Grand Mariana drifted from the Smiling Cove Marina to the reef near Micro Beach and has been stuck there since.
The Coast Guard was involved as it seemed to pose a threat to marine life.
