Removal of 48 wrecks underway at Catania port, plan ready for Augusta

The removal of sunken and semi-sunken wrecks in the port of Catania has been underway for several days: 14 of the 48 vessels have already been removed, according to the Port System Authority of the Eastern Sicilian Sea.

These are mostly fiberglass and wooden fishing boats, along with a few patrol boats, sailboats, fishing vessels, and pleasure craft, all long abandoned. As announced last May, the salvage operation has begun, made possible by a pontoon crane operating from sea for wrecks located too far from the docks or, despite being close enough, without sufficient space on the docks. For those closer to the roadstead, land-based cranes will be used. In all cases, equipment and personnel will be used to support the operations, as well as divers to prepare and sling the pieces to be removed. Environmental supervision and monitoring will be carried out throughout the operation, along with the removal of any solid or liquid materials that may have fallen into the floating booms during the lifting process. The seabed will be cleaned in the areas adjacent to the removed wrecks, and the salvaged items will be disposed of.

“This work was preceded by a series of preliminary investigations using electroacoustic instruments to map the seabed,” explains Francesco Di Sarcina, president of the Eastern Sicilian Sea Port System Authority. “This continues the process of environmental and functional redevelopment of the Etna port, and the work plan for the port of Augusta, which has around ten wrecks, will soon be ready.”

Di Sarcina reports that the MASE (Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security) review procedures are being completed for approval of the environmental monitoring of the Augustana harbor. A meeting between the Ministry, planners, and the Port Authority will be held by the end of the month for the Authority to present a summary of its proposed procedures for removing the ten vessels currently in the harbor. "The removal of the wrecks is not only an important step in the redevelopment of the ports," Di Sarcina adds, "but also means safeguarding the environment and marine ecosystems as well as navigational safety."

In fact, the activities carried out at the Catania port are constantly monitored by ARPA personnel who verify strict adherence to the program for safety, removal, transportation, demolition (at a site other than the port area), recovery/disposal, as well as compliance with the requirements contained in the authorization documentation, the Eastern Sicilian Sea Port System Authority reports, emphasizing that the Catania contract is being carried out by the temporary consortium of the companies Comap and Seap, which won the tender.