Seabed exploration firm Ocean Infinity has concluded an operation related to subsea search, inspection and operations on the wreck of the MV Grande America.
Ocean Infinity carried out the inspection as per the terms of the agreement signed with marine services company Ardent.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Grande America capsized and sank on 12 March in the Bay of Biscay off the coast of France after its cargo of containers and vehicles caught fire during a voyage from Hamburg to Casablanca.
To locate the wreck, Ocean Infinity deployed its fleet of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV).
Remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROV) were subsequently used by Ocean Infinity to carry out a programme of inspection and operations to determine the state of Grande America.
The operation was conducted from Ocean Infinity’s vessel Island Pride, which had been in Gibraltar prior to this tasking.
Ocean Infinity CEO Oliver Plunkett said: “We are pleased that we were able to rapidly deploy Island Pride, in answer to the call for assistance following the loss.
“At a depth of approximately 4,600m, our data-gathering technology was used to assess the state of the wreck, and the high-quality imagery that we collected was pivotal in guiding our ROV team in executing the subsequent intervention.
“With three permanently mobilised highly capable vessels, each with a complete set of the latest deepwater technology tools, deployed across the globe, we are uniquely placed to react quickly to crisis situations across the world’s oceans.”
Grimaldi, which owns Grande America, earlier informed that the ship had 2,210 vehicles and 365 containers onboard when the incident occurred.
