Historic Tug USS Wenonah Salvaged

The U.S. Coast Guard, California Department of Fish and Game's Office of Spill Prevention and Response, and other partner organizations completed salvage operations of the Tug Wenonah, which sank at its berth on Pier One of Treasure Island Aug. 17, 2009. Global Diving and Salvage subcontracted American Bridge-Flour Joint Venture's barge crane, the Left Coast Lifter, to assist in the raising and disposal of the 300-ton tug, Wenonah.The surfacing process included:

* Preventative measures to ensure integrity of containment boom and increase absorbent materials around tug.

* Two access channels being dug under the hull of the tug, fore and aft of the vessel.

* Two 90-foot segments of chain capable of lifting 450 tons positioned under the tug and winched together above the vessel by a crane.

* Left Coast Lifter raising the tug to the waterline.Coast Guard Pacific Strike Team members boarded the tug and commenced de-watering, compartment-by-compartment. The Treasure Island Development Authority, a resource trustee, will oversee the disposal of the tug. The unified command oversaw cleanup of any further oil discharge that occurred during the resurfacing of the tug. The Left Coast Lifter is a 400-foot long shear leg crane used in the construction of the new east span of the San Francisco - Oakland Bay Bridge. The crane can lift up to 1,873 tons.