luxury yacht that partially sank after it caught fire in Sentosa Cove have begun.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\nPart of the vessel\u2019s top deck has already been retrieved after salvage operations started on July 9, The Straits Times has learnt.<\/p>\n
Operations to lift the main hull of the vessel are under way and are expected to be completed by July 20.<\/p>\n
The Ferretti EagleWings III was docked at ONE\u00b015 Marina Sentosa Cove when it caught fire on the morning of June 7. No injuries were reported, and the cause of the fire is still under investigation.<\/p>\n
EagleWings III was a superyacht owned by EagleWings Yacht Charters, which is under the EagleWings Group and was founded in 2016 by Julian Theng and his sister Lisa Theng.<\/p>\n
The 33.8m vessel had been left mostly submerged in the marina after the fire.<\/p>\n
In response to queries on July 10, Nick McLaughlin, general manager of ONE\u00b015 Marina Sentosa Cove, said the recovery works are being carried out in phases by the appointed contractors.<\/p>\n
\u201cSafety and environmental protection remain key priorities, with appropriate control and containment measures maintained at the site,\u201d said McLaughlin.<\/p>\n
Preparatory work began earlier in the week.<\/p>\n
Since the blaze, the seawater around the vessel \u2013 the water had turned black after the fire \u2013 has been chemically treated daily for oil spills.<\/p>\n
When ST arrived at the incident site at about 9.10am on July 10, charred debris was seen being lifted out of the water by crane barge SSE Danakody, which was docked beside the yacht. A crane barge is a specialised vessel with a crane used for lifting heavy loads.<\/p>\n
The vessel is part of the fleet of maritime emergency and support service provider Singapore Salvage Engineers, which was commissioned by EagleWings Yacht Charters to conduct the salvage operations.<\/p>\n