Dutch deck cargo pontoon starts removal of shipwreck El Maud

MARIGOT- The Dutch deck cargo pontoon H283 Panama has taken its first bites out of the commercial vessel El Maud in the Baie de la Potence, just outside Marigot this week.

The pontoon, sailing under Panamese flag, uses a crane to rip the vessel to pieces. The El Maud sank at its current location after Hurricane Lenny in 1999.

Over the past eighteen years, El Maud became a favorite spot for divers. The shipwreck attracted people from all over the world. At one time, a Croatian visitor hand-painted the name of his favorite soccer team on the bow: Hajduk Split.

The Collectivité’s President Daniel Gibbs announced before Hurricane Irma hit the island that he was determined to have the wreck removed.

The cost of the removal is an estimated €400,000 (at the current rate of exchange $472,000), money the French side could have used well for its reconstruction efforts.