Salvage operation under way for sunken Louisianna heritage boat in Docklands

Clean-up efforts began this month in Victoria Harbour after the MV Louisianna heritage timber boat sunk while berthed at North Wharf in November.

Docklands News understands that the boat, operated by Yarra River Cruises, became submerged on November 29 after losing its electricity supply from the wharf, cutting off power to its bilge pump.

Berthing infrastructure along North Wharf, including electricity, was previously managed by the City of Melbourne. However, the land was recently excised by Development Victoria (DV) as part of Lendlease’s development along Collins Wharf.

In the months since the transfer occurred it is understood that usual services previously managed by the council had been left unattended, including ongoing electricity supply, vessel checks and safety equipment.

Yarra River Cruises operator Con Sarou said, “we are saddened by the loss of Louisianna. Melbourne has lost a beautiful vessel that we had planned to restore to her original condition. Regrettably, we were in the process of seeking a new home for her when she sank.”

At the time of publishing, a salvage operation for the sunken vessel had recently commenced at North Wharf, with several different agencies involved, including Parks Victoria, the Department of Transport and Planning (DTP) and the Environment Protection Authority (EPA).

DV told Docklands News that it was also assisting authorities to salvage the vessel safely and to ensure minimal environmental impact, but said it wasn’t responsible for the provision of services to vessels along North Wharf.

DV also stated that it was in regular communication with all vessel owners along North Wharf regarding Lendlease’s ongoing construction in the area.

Parks Victoria said that it was leading the multi-agency response with the assistance of DTP to oversee the salvage of the MV Louisianna, but that salvage effort was the responsibility of its owner.

PV said that a contractor was currently on site with salvage work started during the week beginning January 20, and that the multi-agency response was working with the vessel’s owner and key stakeholders, including the Docklands community, to ensure the safety of the public and to protect the surrounding environment during the salvage.

A boom has been deployed around the location of the vessel to contain any pollution and the boom will be replaced if required.

EPA Western Metropolitan Regional Manager Peter Curtis said while DPT and Parks Victoria were the lead agencies for the salvage operation, the EPA was playing a “support role”.

“EPA Victoria has a support role, monitoring progress on the recovery operation and advising on appropriate transport and disposal of waste material once it has been brought ashore,” Mr Curtis said. •

Main photo by Paul Vella, others of salvage operation by Michael Lindell.