High Tech Cowboys of the Deep Seas

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Jul 22, 2008

High Tech Cowboys of the Deep Seas

Posted by : Jon Clausen

If you have an half hour to spare for a good read, check out this fascinating article covering trials, tribulations, and even tragedies of the folks who spend their lives salvaging, on-the-fly, really big ocean vessels in trouble. From rappelling down the decks of tipped container ships to, well, events of an unexpected nature:

Trepte pulls out a drill and bores down. Suddenly, water erupts. The tank is already full and pressurized — water must be flowing in through a broken vent on the underwater side of the ship. It sprays furiously. They have unwittingly caused the worst thing possible: The deepest cargo hold is flooding.

In an instant, Trepte covers the hole with the tip of a finger and presses hard. The sound of gushing water abruptly stops, and the shouts and curses of the moment before echo through the hold. Salt water drips off Mazdas, and the panic the men all felt transforms into a contagious laugh.

Trepte is keeping the ship afloat with one finger.

"Well, I guess the tank is already full," Reed chuckles.

"Very funny," Trepte says. "Now whyn't some of you smart chaps go figure out how to fix this bloody mess."