UAE: Sunken ship weighing over 90 tonnes recovered from Dubai Creek

Dubai - The ship was an abandoned floating restaurant in the Rigga Al Buteen area

The remnants of a sunken wooden ship weighing more than 90 tonnes were recovered in record time from the Dubai Creek, authorities have said.

Dubai Municipality, in coordination with the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) and Dubai Police, assisted in recovering the ship, which was an abandoned floating restaurant in the Rigga Al Buteen area.

Eng Abdulmajeed Saifaie, director of Waste Management Department at Dubai Municipality, said a team of 26 workers, including six supervisors representing all the parties, were involved in the operation.

After determining the location of the ship and the start date of the operation, Saifaie said the team first closed off the area to reduce the spread of waste in the creek. Then, they began the ship flotation process by lifting the ship with giant cranes.

The ship was taken out to the sea berth and transported to the recycling site thereafter, he added.

The Dubai Voluntary Diving Team retrieved the remnants of the sunken ship using cranes, open trucks, boats and other tools, Saifaie said.

afkarali@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai