Remains of beached Riverdance ferry to be cleared (From Blackpool Citizen)

Remains of beached Riverdance ferry to be cleared

12:55pm Wednesday 8th October 2008

• Print
• Email
• Share
• Comments(0)

The last remains of the stranded Riverdance ferry will be gone in ten days.

That is the view of the man behind the demolition of the vessel, which has been beached between Blackpool and Cleveleys since January 31.

Contractors responsible for the demolition and removal of the boat have not been on site this week due to difficult weather conditions and rising tides, but they are confident they will be able to complete the job soon.

Mark Quinn, project manager for PGC Demolition, said: “We have been struggling with weather conditions recently but things are looking better for next week.

“By Monday October 20 we think the structure of the ship will be gone, then we will be on site for a further month scanning and raking the beach to check for any lose materials and restoring it to its original condition.”

The Riverdance ran aground after getting into difficulties during a storm while travelling between Northern Ireland and Heysham.

Two months were spent trying to refloat the vessel before the decision was made to cut it up on the beach, with the metal being taking to various scrapyards, and the two engines being sent to a company in the North East.

• Print
• Email
• Share
• Comments(0)