Salvage Operations & Pollution Control

Here at McDermott Aviation, we relish in being asked to carry out challenging operations, in particular, Salvage Operations or Environmental disasters. For any incident that may arise, we can offer cost effective solutions to reduce environmental impact and timely alternatives to any situation that might need rectifying.

Environmental/Pollution Control

In this day and age, the environment plays a very important part in our lives, so when an incident disrupts and threatens to pollute the environment, a quick rectification is in order.

Here at McDermott Aviation, we believe and practice in being green to try to help protect the environment in which we live in, so when we are contacted to assists in any sort of environmental catastrophe, we can offer cost effective, environmentally friendly ways to aid in the clean up of solid materials and waste.

By using our ‘under slung’ hoppers, that can be either manually or remotely operated by the pilot, oil spill dispersants can be sprayed onto the polluted area to reduce the overall environmental impact by dissipating the oil slick. By doing this, the oil is able to break up and form water-soluble micelles that are rapidly diluted. The oil is then effectively spread throughout a larger volume of water than the surface from where the oil was dispersed, and reduces the harmful oil exposure to birds, fish, and other wildlife in the proximity of the spill.

With most environmental disasters requiring immediate response, McDermott Aviation are always poised and ready to deploy all or part of our fleet to ensure we can assist in any way possible.

Marine Vessel Salvage

McDermott Aviation have been contracted to assist in some of the most publicised salvage operations in the Pacific region over recent years, including the ‘MV Pasha Bulka’ on Newcastle’s famous “Nobbys Beach” in New South Wales in 2007, the ‘MV Sheng Neng One’ on Queensland’s Great Barrier Reef in 2010, the’ MV RENA’ in New Zealand in 2011, and the Kea Trader in New Caledonia as recently as 2017-18. All of these operations involved us carrying the required salvage equipment and transporting crew to and from the bulk carriers – spending over 12months during one operation to see the job through.

Each one of these operations were extremely time critical, and equipment used to contain and clean up chemical spills were all heli-lifted out to the stricken Vessel’s to ensure that the amount of damage to the environment was kept at an absolute minimum.

Our Bell 214 helicopter, together with the size and reliability provides the best solution for any Salvage Operation. As well as having external carrying capacity of up to 3000kg, to transport heavy and awkward Salvage Equipment including generators, anchors, & pumping apparatus, it also has internal carrying capacity of up to 2000kg. Coupled with our expertise & experience in precision long lining, we have the ‘know how’ for areas classed as environmentally sensitive, remote, or inaccessible.

Apart from transporting salvage equipment, another element of a salvage operation is transferring the necessary crew to and from the Salvage site for site assessment or crew changes –  whether it’s out in the ocean, outback Australia or on top of a mountain. With the safety of a ‘twin-engine’ and fuel endurance of up to 3.2 hrs, our reliable AS365 Dauphin’s or AS355 Twin Squirrel’s are the perfect solution to carry out such a task. We can also offer Medivac and Winching Operations as part of the Salvage Operation.

Wreck Removal

As well as large ocean going vessels, McDermott Aviation have been involved in many smaller wreck removals such as various Yachts and runabouts, as well as many other aircraft such as a Bell 412, Robinson R44’s, AS350 Squirrel, gyrocopter, and many small fixed winged aircraft.

Majority of the time, when a boat or aircraft comes to grief, it occurs in an extremely hard to access area and the only way to safely do so is the use of a helicopter. The lifting capacity of the Bell 214B allows for wrecks to be flown for great distances, and with the possibility of being relocated in one piece.

Support

McDermott Aviation have sent aircraft all around the world at extremely short notice to assist in many salvage operations. Our freighting network that we have sourced and maintained successful working relationships with over many years gives us the ability to react extremely quickly, and meet the tight time frames that are required for these operations.

We have a large range of various lifting and rigging equipment for moving all types of loads, and by having access to our own fuel trucks, engineers and a large range of aircraft spares, we are totally self reliant and able to ensure the operation is flows smoothly all the way to the end.

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