Preparations are being made for the salvaged Transocean Winner oil rig to be transported as ‘dry cargo’ to Turkey.
While the final legalities and contracts are yet to be signed, the plan is to load
the badly damaged platform on to a semi-
The vessel is expected to arrive in Broad Bay -
Weather permitting, the loading operation would start before the end of the month but a definite date has not yet been set.
A public meeting will be held to explain to the community how the operation will work.
Hugh Shaw who is the UK Government's salvage advisor, will attend along with representatives from Transocean and the heavy lift ship company.
Hugh Shaw said: ‘From the onset, our aim has been to keep the local community fully aware of our future plans and intentions.
"Given the level of interest, we will be more than happy to have the key players explain how the next part of the operation will be managed.’
In the meantime, the grounded rig remains stable in Broad Bay, connected to eight anchors.
Temporary exclusion zones (TEZ) in Dalmore Bay and Broad Bay remain in place.
Although the TEZ only covers the sea area off the beach, members of the public should be aware that there may be some uncharted debris from the rig still lying on the seabed.
Divers have already detected and recovered some debris but have been unable to complete their search due to the prevailing weather conditions.
Advice also remains in place about being vigilant if walking on the beach – if you see anything out of the ordinary which could be debris, dial 999 and ask for the Coastguard.
Preparations to load oil rig onto ship for Mediterranean voyage
2 September 2016