Environment Southland harbourmaster Lyndon Cleaver confirmed the vessel, which sunk on September 14, had been refloated and removed from Deep Water Basin yesterday.
At the time of the fire, Fire and Emergency New Zealand [fenz] spokesman Brent Dunn told the Otago Daily Times the Milford Sound Fire Brigade was at the scene battling the blaze and was helped by some fishermen.
Te Anau Volunteer Fire Brigade chief fire officer Graeme ‘‘Possum’’ Moffat and his crew of firefighters were unable to get to the site of the fire, which started at about 4am, until about 6am, due to weather conditions.
They were later helicoptered in and the ex-fishing boat was extinguished about 9am.
“It was a success – the divers ensured everything went to plan and there was no debris or sign of contamination in the water as the boat was removed.’’
To refloat the boat, divers attached nine two-tonne lift bags and inflated them, while also pumping out excess water to reduce its weight before it was hauled up a boat ramp.
“It was a great effort from the salvage team, who had to deal with Milford Sound’s unpredictable weather in the lead-up to the removal.”
There was evidence of small amounts of contamination on the water at the time of the fire, however, the booms put in place to capture the contamination had been removed from the water.
The boat had been disassembled and removed from Milford Sound for disposal.
