By Naval Sea Systems Command Office of Corporate Communications
Supervisor of Salvage and Diving (SUPSALV), a directorate of the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) in Washington D.C. cleared the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW) near Galveston, Texas, for marine vessel traffic Sept. 25.
The salvage removal operation directly supports Hurricane Ike relief efforts.
"We originally identified five salvage targets, two of which were confirmed to be commercial-size fishing vessels," said Michael Herb, director of salvage operations. "However the work has grown and a total of three deck barges full of debris have been removed." SUPSALV and its east coast salvage contractor, Donjon Marine, commenced salvage removal operations Sept. 17.
NAVSEA's SUPSALV received the request from the Galveston District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACOE) Sept. 15 for U.S. Navy assistance in removing a number of small vessels sunk in the GIWW along the Bolivar Peninsula northeast of Galveston. SUPSALV will also remove an obstruction from the north edge of the Galveston channel.
"It's important to remove these obstructions quickly to get the critical barge and ship commerce back in transit safely," said Herb. SUPSALV is responsible for all aspects of ocean engineering, including salvage, oil pollution response, deep ocean search and recovery, in-water ship repair, towing, diving safety and equipment maintenance and procurement.
Worldwide maritime security remains a top Navy priority and NAVSEA provides highly capable disaster response to support the Maritime Strategy.