(ANACORTES, Wash.) — M/V Chilkat, which came to rest on the bottom of the Guemes Channel during a windstorm two weeks ago, was lifted by a crane and placed onto a barge Wednesday afternoon, GoSkagit.com reported.
The salvage drew a crowd early Wednesday morning, though many had left by the time the boat was pulled up in an hours-long process.
Troy Wood, derelict-vessel removal program manager for the state Department of Natural Resources, said that divers wrapped chains around Chilkat on Tuesday and prepared it to be lifted Wednesday. A hydraulic pipe was used to get the chain under the vessel, he said.
Chilkat, built in 1957, was the first ferry to serve the Alaska Marine Highway System. It was later converted into a scalloper for a private fishing business.
Global Diving and Salvage was contracted to remove the vessel and used the barge crane D.B. General.
Click here to read the story.
