(Livorno, IT) Herbert Engineering served as a consultant to the salvage refloating operation of the drydock Meditteraneo and the research vessel Urania lying inside. A full article describing the operation can be found here. During the lifting operation a year earlier the vessel listed to the portside and fell from the keel blocks. In the subsequent response a leak caused the pump rooms to flood which put all drydock pumping and control systems out of service.

An Italian naval architect, Alessio Gnecco, of Stige Maritime was hired by the dock manager to prepare the refloating operation, with the Urania to be kept stable on the dock floor in the position she originally fell in. To assist in this task he obtained the cooperation of Herbert Engineering, to develop a refloating sequence and the design of the stabilizing devices.

On September 15, 2016 the refloating operation was kicked off with HEE managing director Luca Letizia attending to monitor stability, trim, list and stresses with HECSalv and to suggest corrective actions should they be found advisable. The refloating operation was a complete success, with the dock safely floating about 12 hours after pumps were first started. The photo shows the assembled team for the refloating operation, including HEC’s Luca Letizia. A video showing the full operation can be found here.