Townsville-based Pacific Marine Group has proved a successful weapon of choice in the War on Wrecks campaign, shifting two 30m-plus stranded vessels at Mackay and Cardwell last month.

Business development manager Steve Jones said the company had carried out a number of the larger, more complex shipwreck removals during the ongoing Maritime Safety Queensland program.

This included the recent removal of the 32m steel vessel Erin Maree from Vines Creek, Mackay.

PMG used a 40-tonne excavator fitted with hydraulic shears to cut the derelict vessel up into liftable sections. Its PMG123 flat-top barge and a pedestal crane-mounted barge were required for the operation as well.

Mr Jones said the barges had been towed from Townsville to Mackay by the PMG fleet’s latest addition – a Damen 2609 Shoalbuster dubbed Sea Charlie.

“The biggest challenge of the job was physically getting up there into that very shallow area with the big equipment that we proposed to use,” he said.

“So we just targeted a set of high tides in November that allowed us to get that equipment up there.”

The company also shifted the derelict vessel Commissioner from Meunga Creek near Cardwell, (images below) where it had been sitting surrounded by mangroves since Cyclone Yasi in 2011.

Mr Jones said all work had to be conducted in accordance with strict environmental approvals as the Meunga Creek site is located within a national park

The threat of saltwater crocodiles meant the team had to erect a fence around the vessel to keep the crew safe while using hand tools to cut the 34m timber boat into liftable segments.

PMG mobilised two barges and other small work boats from Townville to site to undertake the works. A 70-tonne pedestal crane was used to lift cut sections weighing 8-10 tonnes out of the mangroves and onto the cargo barge for removal from site.

Maritime Safety Queensland acting general manager, Jim Huggett said the Cardwell removal had required the contractor to work with several government agencies and develop detailed planning to mitigate risks.

The latest removals were especially timely coming ahead of the summer storm season when there was a heightened risk of them breaking up, creating a greater threat to the environment and other vessels, he said.

Since the War on Wrecks program began in 2018, there were now 925 fewer derelict vessels across the state, he said.