Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
THE owner of a timber boat which sunk in the Shoalhaven River in early February is making efforts to have the vessel recovered according to Roads and Maritime Services.
The Christine J, previously used to conduct cruises on the Shoalhaven River, was noticed listing badly on February 7, just east of the Nowra bridges and eventually sank, resting on the bottom of the river in about 2.5 to 3 metres of water.
Roads and Maritime Services said the owner was attempting to assemble the “complex equipment necessary to recover the vessel”.
On February 8, Fire and Rescue NSW Shoalhaven and Hazmat crews placed booms around a sunken boat as a precaution to ensure any liquids that might leak from the boat into the sensitive Shoalhaven River environment were contained.
It was understood the diesel and oil had previously been removed from the vessel, which was listing heavily to starboard.
The incoming and outgoing tides have inundated the vessel over the past month and it now appears to be sitting even lower in the water, with the listing to starboard more pronounced.
The boat had also sunk in early January but was refloated before this latest incident.
Roads and Maritime Services said they remain in regular contact with the owner who is assembling equipment to recover the vessel.
“Given the vessel is a low pollution risk and the recent bad weather, a fixed time frame for the removal has not been set,” a RMS spokesperson said.
Trying to salvage the vessel will be a task, with the boat, believed to be more than 40-years-old, weighing more than 13 tonnes.