COOS BAY, OR - Marine salvage workers are suppressing the urge to celebrate the end of a notorious shipwreck on the southern Oregon Coast. They say the job of hauling away the New Carissa freighter is not quite done yet. Correspondent Tom Banse reports.

For nearly ten years, the hulk of the New Carissa has rusted just north of Coos Bay. The ship ran aground and broke apart in 1999. Now, as of this week, none of the doomed freighter shows above the surf.

Reed: “We hope to have it out soon, but we’re not finished yet. We figure we’ve got a day or two of diving and rigging. We’ll probably cut some of the pieces at the sand line.”

Salvage engineer Phil Reed awaits better weather to reel in the four or five scrap pieces that remain on the sea floor.

Reed: “It looks good, but we’re not celebrating just yet.”

The ship’s owner and insurance company are paying Titan Salvage to recover the wreck and barge it to a metal recycler. Some locals would’ve preferred to leave the wreck where it was as a tourist attraction. But state officials insisted the ship be completely removed to restore the pristine beauty of the coastal beach.

Copyright 2008 KUOW

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