Some history:
In 1842 and at the tender age of 65, Fop Smit began providing vessels with a safe and reliable passage into the Port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands. Having commenced operations with the 140 hp paddle steamer “Kinderdijk”, the SMIT fleet has grown and developed since then in line with technical advancements and customer’s demands.

Upon Fop Smit’s death in 1866, his company operated a fleet of six tugs totaling 500 hp. Fop’s sons, Jan and Leendert, continued to expand the fleet and in 1870 they began building tugs with propellers.

Partly due to these advancements, the company L. Smit & Co. continued to offer new services to their clients. This fact was exemplified in 1892 when the company built an oceangoing tug of 750 hp, which made the first of many successful voyages by towing a dredger from Rotterdam to Cadiz, Spain.

L. Smit & Co. continued to expand its fleet, however heavy competition between 1900 and 1920 with another tug operator in Rotterdam, the Internationale Sleepdienst, opened the door for a new chapter in the history of the company. In 1923, both tug operators decided to merge operations under the name “L. Smit & Co.’s Internationale Sleepdienst”. The combined strength of this new entity enabled the company to expand operations to all four corners of the globe.

In addition to the company’s core towage business, it became increasingly evident that SMIT’s maritime knowledge could be utilised in the growing salvage market. A noteworthy example of SMIT’s success in this market came in 1957 with SMIT’s involvement in the removal of 41 wrecks in the Suez Channel. SMIT is proud to have been involved in many subsequent salvage cases and wreck removals, and continues to offer assistance to vessels in need.

Rapidly changing demands and a new emphasis on the care of the environment have encouraged SMIT Salvage to offer special services in the area of environmental care: it was thus developed, in co-operation with the Norwegian partner Frank Mohn, the Pollutant Recovery System (PolRec).

The PolRec system enables SMIT Salvage to remove bunkers and cargo (oil and/or chemicals) from vessels lying on the ocean floor at depths of between 50 and 250 meters. In the future, additional adaptations to the PolRec system will allow for the removal of environmentally threatening pollutants from vessels lying in depths of up to 2500 meters.



Services:
Marine emergency response
Wreck removal
Environmental care
Underwater bunker/cargo removal
Marine fire fighting
Diving services
Under water survey, video inspection
Marine and salvage consultancy
Managing Marine Emergencies course

Here follow some salvage projects carried out in the current year, 2007:

Minerva Concert
Greek oil tanker ‘Minerva Concert’, laden with 81000 tonnes of crude oil, grounded close to the Isle of Samso, Denmark.

Bourbon Dolphin
‘Bourbon Dolphin’ capsized on Thursday 12th April whilst performing offshore services for the drill platform ‘Transocean Rather’.

Phoenix Beta
Tanker ‘Phoenix Beta’, carrying 66000 tonnes of crude oil, grounded shortly after leaving Maracaibo (Venezuela).

MSC Napoli
Container ship ‘MSC Napoli’ suffered damage during the violent storm in the English Channel on 18 January 2007.

Nautilus
The Dutch flagged hopper suction dredger ‘Nautilus’ (3880 gt, built 1996) capsized on 30 November 2006 during dredging activities at the port of Pointe Noire, Congo.

Bitumen Glory
Whilst on voyage from Malaysia to India the ’Bitumen Glory’ (5000 DWT, built in 1985) laden with 4300 tonnes of bitumen suffered an engine room fire.

Gold River
SMIT Salvage was contracted by the owners and underwriters on LOF 2000 to refloat the unfortunate ’Gold River’ which grounded off Douala, Cameroon.

In particular, SMIT gained worldwide acclaim for the recovery of the Russian nuclear submarine ‘Kursk” performed between May 28 and October 22, 2001.

The submarine was lost some 90 miles off the Murmansk Pilot Station, coming to a rest on the ocean floor at a depth of 108 meters. An international project team of heavy lift, salvage, diving and other specialists were involved in the recovery. The weight of the submarine, when prepared for the main lift, was around 9,000 ton.

The raising of the ’Kursk’ created a new world record, as it was the heaviest object recovered from such depths. The operation was performed by Mammoet-SMIT, a 50:50 joint venture between Mammoet and SMIT. SMIT was responsible for all marine activities associated with the recovery of the ’Kursk’, including the conversion and deployment of the 24,000 ton deadweight barge Giant 4 - the lifting and transport platform. SMIT also developed and deployed a revolutionary technology to cut the bow off the submarine, a crucial part of the operation.

The scope of work performed by Mammoet-SMIT required the cutting of 26 holes into the pressure hull and cutting away the submarine’s bow, together with the attachment of lifting cables, the lift of the ’Kursk’ to a position immediately under the barge Giant 4, transport of the barge/submarine combination to Murmansk and safe entry into the naval drydock. The Kursk was delivered in the Murmansk drydock on October 22, which marked the end of this memorable salvage operation.

il Kursk	Cutting the damaged bow	The Kursk in the Murmansk drydock

   [click on images to enlarge]

Another important operation: the Ehime Maru Salvage (April-October 2001)

Ehime Maru Salvage

April – October 2001

In February 2001, the submarine of the US Navy ‘Greeneville’ collided upon surfacing with the Japanese fishery training vessel ’Ehime Maru’ off the Hawaiian coast. As a result of the collision, ‘Ehime Maru’ sank to a depth of 600 meters and nine of its crewmembers were killed, including four high school students and two teachers. The extensive preparations required prior to the wreck recovery called for the mobilisation of SMIT resources on a global basis. The wreck recovery strategy adopted by the project team was based on a diverless solution. All phases of the lift and transport were controlled from the surface, on board the salvage/diving support vessel ’Rockwater 2’. All preparations and modifications of the ’Rockwater 2’ were completed by early July and the vessel arrived on location at the beginning of August. Two weeks earlier, the ’Ehime Maru’ had been prepared for the lifting operation by the SMIT/Oceaneering multi-purpose vessel ’Ocean Hercules’. This work included the removal of the trawler’s main and forward mast, to allow the deployment of a lifting frame. The Remotely Operated Vehicles deployed by the Ocean Hercules also removed other potential obstructions, including nets and other fishing equipment. The main lifting operation was challenging, due to the Ehime Maru’s position on the seabed. She was resting at an angle, with her bow embedded into quicksand and her stern raised some 4m above the seabed. Steel cables were then fed beneath the keel, followed by giant straps: the straps would cradle the hull, lifting the ship slowly from the ocean floor with powerful hoists aboard salvage craft on the surface. On October 11th the wreck of the ’Ehime Maru’ was lifted clear of the seabed.
With this stage successfully completed, ’Rockwater 2’ began the 50-hour voyage to the designated shallow water location, with the wreck being lifted as the transport proceeded. On arrival, the ’Ehime Maru’ was set down in approximately 30 m of water, and the lifting cables were disconnected from the lifting frame. A team of Navy and Japanese divers then recovered the victims’ bodies, personal effects, and mementos, and videotaped the vessel damage. After the search was complete, the Ehime Maru was transferred 16.5 miles out to sea, where it was lowered into its final resting place.

The "Ehime Maru"	The “Greeneville”	The “cradle” applied to the ship

   [click on images to enlarge]