A north-east firm has sent one of its vessels to the Mediterranean to help salvage the stricken Costa Concordia cruise ship.
Kintore-based Ferguson Group said yesterday its accommodation service vessel, the ASV Pioneer, would be home to up to 90 members of the salvage team and some specialist equipment.
It comes after Ferguson signed a six-month contract with salvage firms Titan and Micoperi, which are recovering the vessel that capsized off the coast of Italy in January killing 32 people.
The value of the deal with Ferguson was not disclosed, but the total cost of the salvage operation, which will take a year to complete, is expected to run to £185million.
Ferguson specialises in the rental of containers and modules to the offshore energy sector, but executive director Graham Cowperthwaite said the Costa Concordia contract highlighted the flexibility of its fleet.
He said: “With the ASV Pioneer having previously supported a renewables contract in the North Sea and now being involved in supporting a salvage operation in the Mediterranean Sea, it is proving to be a versatile and flexible vessel.
“We envisage securing contracts covering a variety of projects that make best use of the vessel’s mix of accommodation and open deck configuration.”