Burned Princess 65 Retrieved from 68 Meters Depth!

On September 2, 2016, on the navigational route between the Proverse channel and the Mali Ždrelac channel, the yacht Princess 65 (21 meters) caught fire, which was covered by almost all national and private TV stations, with live broadcast provided by the EmergenSea sea rescue network via Facebook Live. The flames that engulfed the engine room quickly turned into an inferno, and the crew, in panic, jumped into the sea. Fishing boats nearby rushed to assist the victims, so there were no casualties.

Yacht burned in just a few hours

The flames that engulfed the Princess were so intense that the entire superstructure burned down in just a few hours, leaving only a small part of the hull above the waterline. Even the firefighters from Zadar, who fought the blazing yacht, were unable to prevent total destruction.

First-class ecological bomb

That day, shortly after 1 PM, the burned yacht sank, taking tons of toxins to the seabed. The yacht sank to 68 meters in an area of muddy bottom, close to a fishing spot where many fishermen catch fish daily. A first-class ecological bomb! The Ministry of the Sea and the Port Captain in Zadar urgently engaged a specialized pollution prevention company and issued an order to the owner for the retrieval of the wreck, despite the sensitivity of the task at 68 meters depth.

Seafloor scanning

The scanning and positioning of the wreck were carried out with the excellent depth sounder HUMMINBIRD HELIX-9 Down Scan. The screen clearly shows the top of the wreck at 64.2 meters. The EmergenSea network conducted a deep dive to physically locate the wreck and take underwater footage for later retrieval.

Administration delayed the start of the Princess retrieval

After 10-15 days of preparing administrative tasks, equipment preparation, work planning, and risk assessment, the wreck retrieval could begin. The work boat, loaded with all the equipment (balloons, special slings and master links, bottle compressor, and even a construction compressor weighing over one ton to push air to those depths), was packed to the brim. The work was further delayed by a strong bora wind of about 5 Beaufort, so the 7-day work plan was fulfilled despite the wind stopping us for a full 2 days.

4 deep dives and 4 days of work were enough

On the fourth working day, the wreck was lifted to 20 meters depth, and we waited for suitable weather to tow it with minimal wind, as such tows are very sensitive to stability. Finally, after 2 days of waiting, a 5-hour window of calm sea appeared... the tow had to be executed flawlessly and without delay! The most complicated part was re-inflating the balloons, and one such stop is described in the film and pictures in the gallery at the bottom of the text.

Tow with the escort of the Zadar Port Authority boat

The tow, accompanied by the fast vessel of the EmergenSea network and the Zadar Port Authority, which diligently ensured safety, was successfully completed around 4 PM on September 27, 2016. Half an hour of removing parachutes and other equipment followed, after which the wreck was tilted and emptied. After everything, the burned Princess was left on land to wait for experts to try to determine the reasons for this tragedy.

Your EMERGENSEA Team