Plans to put a team of eight salvors on board the grounded semisubmersible oil rig Transocean Winner have had to be called off because the conditions are unsuitable to winch them down safely, according to the Maritime & Coastguard Agency.
The stranded GVA 4000-design rig was being towed by the tug Alp Forward from Stavanger to Malta, on Sunday night, but it hit high winds and then parted from the tug before grounding near Dalmore beach on the Isle of Lewis, offshore Scotland, early Monday morning.
On Tuesday, a team of salvors, from Transocean and SMIT, spent three and a half hours checking the condition of the unit. The MCA said two of four fuel tanks appeared to have been breached. The MCA earlier said the rig was carrying 280-tonne of fuel but said no pollution had been spotted near the vessel.
It was hoped the salvor team could carry out a further damage assessments and inspect the emergency generator to establish what power is available.
The MCA said work is continuing with the owners and the salvors to look at placing equipment on the rig by air, as it's impossible to board from the sea.
Hugh Shaw, who is the Secretary of State’s representative for maritime salvage and intervention, said: "There needs to be a comprehensive assessment of the state of the rig before a salvage plan can be drawn up and put it into place."
An exclusion zone of 300m remains in place around the rig. It is understood that the rig was due to be taken to Turkey to be scrapped, according to BBC reports.
The Transocean Winner, built in 1993 and upgraded in 2006, recently came off contract with Marathon Oil in the Norwegian North Sea on a US$498,000 day rate, but had no other work lined up, according to Transocean's latest fleet report.
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