Locals exploring options to get rid of wave generator, which sank off the coast of Carrickalinga in 2014
BLOW it up, cut it into bits, tow it out past Kangaroo Island – or leave it sitting there indefinitely as a blight on the view from picturesque Carrickalinga.
BLOW it up, cut it into bits, tow it out past Kangaroo Island – or leave it sitting there indefinitely as a blight on the view from picturesque Carrickalinga.
The first three options were among six considered as a way to deal with the 3000-tonne wave generator that sunk off the coast at Carrickalinga in March 2014, and has been sitting on the sea floor, sticking prominently out of the water, ever since.
Perhaps mistaking the ratepayers of the small holiday hamlet for marine engineers, the Planning, Transport and Infrastructure Department surveyed them about the preferred method of removal for the generator, owned by failed company Oceanlinx.
The options, canvassed in mid-2015, were:
LEAVE it where it is, maintain navigational lights and block off danger points such as doorways and rear compartments so they can’t be accessed.
LEVEL the structure by explosive blasting such that it forms an artificial reef and no longer poses a navigation hazard or entrapment danger.
CUT the structure such that it is at least 7.5m below low water and the topcut off section be placed alongside so that both pieces form an artificial reef and do not pose an entrapment hazard.
REFLOAT the structure and tow it to deep water (greater than 25m) in Gulf St Vincent where it can be sunk so it does not pose a navigation hazard.
REFLOAT the structure and tow it to very deep water (greater than 50m) south of Kangaroo Island and sink it.
FULLY refloat the structure and tow it to a port or land base.
Correspondence from the Yankalilla District Council shows that 40 per cent of survey respondents preferred to have the wave generator towed away.
“(The Infrastructure Department) have obtained plans from several maritime contractors for the removal of the unit. These plans however are on hold until finalisations of federal court proceedings,’’ the correspondence says.
But the Carrickalinga Ratepayers Association doesn’t really care how it is removed – they just want it done.
The association’s secretary, Chris Mather, said when the generator sunk he cynically assessed it would take five years to clear it up. “CRA people aren’t really concerned about the details of where they take it, they just want it gone,’’ he said.
Grahame Moore said every time he crested the rise coming into Carrickalinga, where he has a holiday home, his spirits sank as he saw the wave generator, which sticks out of the water 1500m offshore.
A report in The Advertiser in December 2014 estimated the clean-up cost at $3 million, based on an estimate from the then liquidator Deloitte.
Initially there were high hopes for the wave generator.
Oceanlinx received a $4 million Federal Government grant for the project, which was to cost $7 million overall.
The generator was to be moored at Port MacDonnell for testing, and was expected to produce one megawatt of electricity, which is enough to power about 1000 homes.
But it sunk on March 2, 2014, while being towed by a tug boat from Port Adelaide to Port MacDonnell.
Apparently, it experienced problems with the airbags keeping it afloat, and sunk in 16m of water 1500m offshore.
KordaMentha was installed as receiver of the company later that month and remains in that position.
A spokeswoman for Transport and Infrastructure Minister Stephen Mullighan said the issue of who would pay for a clean up was unresolved.
“Crown Law are continuing to handle this matter on behalf of the State Government,” the spokeswoman said.
KordaMentha declined to comment.