The complex salvage of a cruise ship that sank nearly 100 years ago is set to begin this week.
The ship Santis has been at a depth of about 210 metres (689 feet) in Lake Constance after it sank in 1933.
For the recovery, a 25-tonne platform has been built in the shipyard in Romanshorn in Switzerland.
Members of the Ship Salvage Association collected EUR 250,000 (GBP 213,766) from donations for the salvage.
Silvan Paganini, President of the Ship Salvage Association told local media: “This recovery platform is built so that we can place it on the wreck.”
He said that by using lines, the ship can be raised to the surface like a submarine.
According to Silvan, 20 inflatable rescue bags sponsored by a sheikh from Dubai will be used in order to lift the shipwreck.
He said: “To do this, you first have to pull four lifting lines under the wreck.
“A small diving robot brings a rod into the right position. That will happen this week.”
According to SIlvan, the lifting bags would then be attached to these lines and inflated.
Santis will then be placed 12 metres underwater in a bay in order to remove the recovery platform and then brought back to the surface.
Silvan said: “The gravity of the ship is based on a historical photo of the ship’s sinking.”
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He added: “There are a lot of uncertainties, which is what makes the project so attractive.”
Silvan told how they had to speed up the salvage because the club will be able to use the shipyard in Romanshorn free of charge for 14 weeks from March.
But he said also because of the quagga mussels, the species which is spreading over the lake and could soon have covered the wreck in a thick layer.
He said this already happened and added: “The wreck of the steamship ‘Jura’ off Bottighofen is just a big mountain of quagga mussels.
According to Salvis, they had already found shells on the chimney of Santis, which was recovered in July.
Santis was first put into service in 1892 and part of the Swiss Federal Railways (SBS).
It was the first steamship on Lake Constance which was converted from coal to oil firing in 1920.
After 41 years of operation, it was decommissioned, and since the low prices for scrap were disproportionate to the demolition costs, it was sunk in Lake Constance off Romanshorn on 2nd May 1933.
To find out more about the author, editor or agency that supplied this story – please click below. Story By: Marija Stojkoska, Sub-Editor: Marija Stojkoska, Agency: Newsflash
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