Tricky, `critical' first step for New Carissa's removal goes smoothly.

Byline: Winston Ross The Register-Guard

NORTH BEND - Flat seas and a balmy Oregon Coast day are to thank for the first major step in the removal of the New Carissa shipwreck - the placement and jacking up of the first of two 170-foot barges, in just the right position.

Sunday's task was "critical," said David Parrot, owner and founder of Titan Maritime, the Florida company that landed a $16.4 million contract to remove the wreck, paid for by money the state got from the ship's owner. The challenge was to pick the right weather window to tow the barge from its downtown Coos Bay dock to the job site and then maneuver it into place.

A low swell Sunday meant a good day to travel. Once at the ship site, tugboats waited until an afternoon tide rolled in and then steered the barge into position.

"I'm shocked, myself, that we're where we wanted it to be," Parrot said. "We can reach out and put our hands on the wreck. I can lean on it from the jack-up barge. It's great."

The endeavor was nearly foiled by a bad compressor, a vital part of the pneumatic jacking system on the barge, the Karlissa A.

There are two aboard the ship, for redundancy, but it's a bad idea to start the massive job with only one that works. Parrot said he assumed he wouldn't be able to find a new compressor locally.

"I thought we wouldn't see another compressor shy of Louisiana. It's a very specialized compressor," he said.

"But Oregon came through again. I was able to get one in Portland, delivered at 9 o'clock at night."

Positioning the barges is the most stressful part of the job, Parrot said, because there's much that can go wrong - especially in a surf zone.

"You can seriously damage the barge," he said. "Not be able to get in or out, up or down, be trapped. It's always a marginal situation."

The operation went flawlessly, however.

"We were delayed getting out by a few hours," Parrot said, "but the end result, June 1, is the target date we've had all along to be out there. We're pleased."

Next, Titan will run a cable from shore to the Karlissa A to deliver parts and crew members. That's scheduled for some time this coming weekend. Then, depending on weather conditions, comes the Karlissa B, which carries a larger crane capable of removing the biggest pieces of the wreck, once they're cut away.

Sunday's activity brought a few curious onlookers to the beach at the North Jetty. Chris Coffman rode his dirt bike to the site, tipped off by his brother, who works on one of the tugs. He watched the operation for several hours.

"Everybody's wondering whether they're going to get this thing," Coffman said of the New Carissa.

"A lot of people are hoping it'll get stuck. They're mad at e_SSRqem, for wasting our tax dollars. Most people think it's kind of neat having it sit there. It's kind of a reminder that the ocean's not all that pleasant."