Drone footage shows South Shields crane recovery as ship moved by Port of Tyne
New footage has shown the extent of the crane collapse at the Port of Tyne before a clear-up begins.
New footage has shown the Port of Tyne’s operation to remove a ship from a crane which caused a major plastic spill into the River Tyne earlier this month.
On Sunday, July 19 the container ship BG Orange collided with a crane in South Shields.
The BG Orange, which was berthed at the port, collided with a Wind Orca container vessel which caused the collapse of the crane.
One person was taken to hospital for treatment following the incident.
The collision caused plastic pellets, known as nurdles, to spill into the river. They have since been found on beaches in South Tyneside, North Tyneside, Northumberland and Sunderland.
Part of the river was closed to traffic on Thursday, July 30 to assist with the clean-up.
A statement from the Port of Tyne said: “A stretch of the River Tyne between Royal Quays and the River Don will be closed tomorrow, Thursday 30th July, to allow for salvage operations to be carried out safely at Tyne Container Terminal.
“This is in relation to the collision between two vessels on Sunday 19th July. Work will be carried out to separate the collapsed gantry crane and the container ship BG Orange. Part of this will involve moving the BG Orange into the river, hence for safety reasons that stretch of the river is being temporarily closed, between 9am and 6pm.”
Video footage, shared by YouTube channel ‘Tyne To Tarn’ shows the Matador 3 crane barge arrive in the Tyne to support efforts.