Work begins to clear a 95-year-old shipwreck from Dover Harbour
Work is about to start to remove the wreck of a 6,500-ton cargo ship that has partially blocked Dover harbour‘s western entrance for the past 95 years.
Although some parts of the ship were salvaged in the 1950s, the wreck will now be cut up in situ and removed completely creating a new charted depth of 8.5m.
The 450ft long Spanish Prince (pictured above) was bought by the Admiralty in 1914 and deliberately scuttled in the entrance the following year to stop U-boats getting in to the harbour.
Two 60m crane barges with legs and marked anchors will remain on station while the work is carried out, and recovered steel will be removed by a tug and barge.
The salvage operation is expected to take around 10 weeks and, although the western entrance will remain open for use, all vessels are advised to exercise caution, proceed at slow speed and maintain a safe distance from the floating plant.
PHOTO CREDIT: John Latter
