After close to 600 days of hard work, the sunken Korean ferry Sewol was successfully lifted from the water. The job was done by the Shanghai Salvage Company (SSC), which won the bid for this challenging mission among 19 international competitors. 

"In this bidding, SSC provided a customized solution to refloat the wreck in one piece and in the same posture as it sank. To prevent damage to the hull, we proposed to use steel lifting beam instead of steel wire to bind the wreck for lifting. In the meantime, we advised to seal up the wreck with guard net to prevent the remains from being lost. What’s more, other than commercial consideration, we proposed that in process of wreck removal, we would try our best to be careful and not to disturb the remains on board the wreck," said director of SSC, Hong Chong, of the process how it stood out among all the competitors.

"All these ideas showed to the bid evaluation committee not only our expertise but also our respect and love to life."

Director Hong said it was "a miracle" in the wreck removal industry: Thirty-three lifting beams were installed under the wreck through rocky seabed, which took more than four months; the fleet lifting the wreck from incident site to semi-submersible barge was as huge as three football pitches; the wreck was removed in one piece; the hull damage was minimized for the accident investigation. 

"The success of Sewol refloating definitely displays the outstanding capability of China Rescue and Salvage as well as the Chinese national strength," said Hong.

During the Sewol wreck removal, bad weather has been a big problem: strong wind, deep water, strong current, hard rock sea bed, and especially huge swell beneath the surface which brought the mission a tremendous jam. 

"Generally for wreck removal work, the biggest challenge always be the unexpected situation on the wreck, and it always keep coming out during your operation which some of them maybe overturn everything you planned at the first beginning; this is very painful but this is definitely for real, and you have to face it with your spirit, your courage and your capability to make the right adjustment immediately based on the current circumstance," said Hong.

Hong said the next step is to transport the big hull of Sewol from the barge to shore. He said they still needed some time to do adjustments, such as sea fastening, discharging additional equipment, and preparation. The company is waiting for a suitable day to complete all the missions for this wreck removal operation.