The righting salvage of the Seaspan 240 : Methods and procedures for the righting of a large capsized pontoon barge

The Seaspan 240 is a 12 300 ton capacity flat deck bulk carrier barge 375' × 75' × 25' built at Yarrows Shipbuilding in 1966 for Island Tug and Barge Co. Ltd. Since launching, the barge has been in the bulk trade on the North American Pacific Coast. On July 16, 1996 while under tow, fully laden with a cargo of limestone, the barge capsized off the headland at Port Townsend, Washington. After the incident the capsized barge was towed to Vancouver Shipyards Co. Ltd. in North Vancouver, BC, where the vessel was righted. This paper outlines the planning, preparation for, and results of the righting salvage. The very successful salvage operation carried out on August 14, 1996 represents a culmination of learned knowledge from other barge turnings over the past few years by Seaspan's marine and technical staff.