Castillo de Salas (ship) explained

Castillo de Salas was a Spanish bulk carrier that was launched in Ferrol on 20 December 1979 and completed in August 1980. It measured over 50,000 gross tons, and had a deadweight of over 100,000 tons, measuring approximately 250m (820feet) in length, 40m (130feet) across the beam, and 14.5m (47.6feet) in the draft. It required a crew complement of 32.

Wreck and salvage

During the morning of 11 January 1986 Castillo de Salas, owned by the Spanish company Elcano, ran aground over rocks north northwest of Gijón. The ship was anchored outside Gijón's seaport (El Musel) when the ship's anchor came loose in bad weather. Efforts to re-anchor, self-propel and even tow the ship away from the coast failed due to harsh seas. The cargo was nearly 100000MT of coal loaded in Norfolk, Virginia as well as over of fuel oil used for propulsion. On 15 January 1986 the hull broke in two during efforts to bring the ship afloat, therefore releasing a spill of diesel oil and coal ore.

On 23 February 1986 the bow half of the hull was refloated, towed 39miles into the sea and scuttled in waters of in depth. Officials stated that no diesel oil was left in the bow section of the hull. During the following spring, the company Fondomar was tasked with salvaging the remainder of the stern portion of the hull.^[1]

Second salvage of the stern section

Small balls of decomposed oil were found sporadically until 2001, when a major find of these balls was confirmed to be from fuel remaining in the double bottom fuel tank of the stern section that was not removed in 1986. This led to a second salvage operation to remove the fuel during 2001–2002^[2] and the complete removal of the remainder of the wreck in 2003 due to public out-cry.^{[3] [4] [5]}

Trophies

On 15 November 2003 Gijón artist Joaquín Rubio Camín's sculpture "Memoria" (Memory) was unveiled on the Camino del Cervigón overlooking the sea. The sculpture was made using part of the remains of Castillo de Salas which sank off Gijón and were recovered earlier in the year.^{[6] [7] [8]}

One of the ship's anchors is displayed in the Philippe Cousteau Anchor Museum in Salinas beach, Spain, west of Gijón.^[9]

Side effects

Since the incident, it has been common to find dark sand contaminated with coal on the beaches in the Bay of Gijón, particularly after rough sea conditions. The amounts recovered continue to reduce over time, but patches of dark coloured sand, high in black coal particles, can be seen at low tide.^{[10] [11]}

Further reading

• Hundimiento del Castillo de Salas
• Piezas del Castillo de Salas (English and Spanish)
• Interview with Joaquin Rubio Camin about his sculpture
• Diving at the remains of Castillo de Salas

External links

• Pictures from salvage company Titan of "Castillo de Salas" in 2003

Notes and References

1. Web site: Gloria López Gamallo . Castillo de Salas 1986-2003 . Spanish Maritime Safety Agency .
2. News: Boletín Oficial del Estado, BOE (Spanish) . Contaminación de la playa de San Lorenzo de Gijón (Asturias) procedente de los restos del buque «Castillo de Salas», que embarrancó en dicha bahía en el año 1986. Gárate Hormaza. Francisco Javier. 2002-09-24. 2001-09-12. 7706–7707. 229 . Ministerio de Fomento (Spanish Government) . 2002/229031 .
3. News: Spill of Castillo de Salas . Centre of Documentation, Research and Experimentation on Accidental Water Pollution .
4. News: El hermano pequeño del 'Prestige' . El Mundo . Spanish .
5. News: Boletín oficial de las cortes generales (Spanish) . Contaminación de la playa de San Lorenzo de Gijón (Asturias) procedente de los restos del buque «Castillo de Salas», que embarrancó en dicha bahía en el año 1986. Llamazares Trigo. Gaspar. 2001-09-27. 2001-09-11. 26. 237 . Spanish Senate . Spanish .
6. News: Shipwreck sculpture unveiled . ThinkSpain .
7. Web site: Castillo de Salas . Escultura Urbana . Spanish . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070826054230/http://esculturaurbana.iespana.es/paginas/cam018.htm . 2007-08-26 .
8. Web site: Castillo de Salas - Una incómoda zapatilla . Mas Mar . Spanish . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070929045730/http://www.masmar.com/articulos/art/77%2C1006%2C1.html . 2007-09-29 .
9. Web site: Ancla del Castillo de Salas (1.980 — 1.986) . Museo de Anclas Philippe Cousteau . Spanish . 2007-08-26 . https://web.archive.org/web/20091225022745/http://www.museodeanclas.es/castillo_salas.html# . 2009-12-25 . dead .
10. Web site: La Columna - Castillo de Salas . 27 January 2006 . El Comercio . Spanish .
11. Web site: El carbón del Castillo de Salas vuelve a la playa . La voz de Asturias . Spanish . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070927235748/http://www.lavozdeasturias.es/noticias/noticia.asp?pkid=140551 . 2007-09-27 .