Sunken barge is salvaged

The barge was moving silt from the harbour

A barge which sank in a Guernsey harbour has been successfully re-floated.

The vessel is one of two being used to remove contaminated silt from the floor of St Sampson's harbour.

The silt is being taken away ahead of the multi-million pound marina development.

The barge sank because of a hole in one of its ballast tanks. It has been temporarily patched up to allow the vessel to be moved.

Incoming tide

Proper repairs will be carried out later by engineers.

Work has been under way since early Friday morning to salvage the vessel, which could not be re-floated on the incoming tide.

It was thought workers may have miscalculated the vessel's cargo capacity.

Members of the public also said they saw a second barge finding it hard to cope with its load and that ended up listing to one side and partially submerged.

Deputy Dave Jones said questions have to be asked about the about why the incident was allowed to happen.

Deputy harbour master Tony Pattimore has refused to comment on the cause of the incident.

The contractors, Miller and Baird, have said they are not allowed to talk about why the barge became submerged.