SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – Response crews will continue efforts to remove and dispose of the grounded freighter Jireh from Mona Island, Monday.
The hull’s deteriorated condition prevented response crews from safely refloating and sinking the vessel in the Mona Passage.
“Our main priority is to complete the safe removal of the Jireh and minimize the environmental impact to the area,” said Capt. Drew Pearson, federal on-scene coordinator for the response. “The deteriorated condition of the ship’s hull did not allow the vessel to be refloated Thursday. We knew this might happen and will be evaluating, along with our Commonwealth partners, the next best course of action to safely complete the removal as quickly as possible.”
Further removal operations may include cutting the remaining ship’s hull into sections that will be removed and transported to a recycling facility for final disposal.
The Jireh ran aground on Mona Island June 21, 2012 with 84 passengers and crew.
