March, 2019
AUS was contracted to salvage 100 metric tons of anchor chain and an 8 metric ton anchor in 310 feet of water from the Manchester bay anchorage area. The lost chain posed a hazard to navigation and reduced the available anchorage footprint in the bay. AUS chartered a derrick which was subsequently equipped with a 4-point anchor system and towed to location. A duty built grapple was custom fabricated for the project. AUS mobilized a Seaeye Falcon with DGPS, track systems, and sonar capabilities on the derrick. The derrick was positioned over the target location and the Falcon was deployed. The chain and anchor were located with sonar. The grapple was deployed with acoustic tracking. The chain was lifted with a power braid line installed with the Falcon and the grapple was hooked into the chain. All chain and anchor were successfully recovered to the derrick deck and the derrick returned to port.
