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Expditionary cruise vessel refloated and scuttled off Guam
The tug USNS 'Salvor' (IMO: 8434374) has removed the 'Voyager' from Guam, ending a two-year ordeal that followed the grounding in typhoon Mawar in May 2023 on a coral reef near the Piti Channel, a protected harbour just north of Naval Base Guam. The ship was towed away from the island on Oct. 2, 2025. The Indonesia-flagged vessel had arrived in 2021 at the Port of Guam, where the owner planned to sell it, but a Coast Guard inspection found structural deficiencies, and the sale collapsed. The owner abandoned the ship and its nine Indonesian crew members, who remained on board for months without pay. They survived on donated food and welfare checks before being repatriated. Legal disputes delayed the removal efforts until the grounding. The 'Voyager' posed a navigation hazard and threatened sensitive marine environments. Cleanup crews removed hazardous materials, including 51,000 gallons of oily waste, at a cost of about $800,000. Despite consensus that the ship had to go, regulatory hurdles slowed progress until the USNS 'Salvor' arrived on Guam and proposed using the operation as a training mission. Funded through the Defense Department’s Innovative Readiness Training program, the 'Salvor' towed the 'Voyager' about 25 miles offshore, where it was scuttled at an Environmental Protection Agency-approved site. Sinking the ship proved to be the most environmentally responsible and cost-effective solution, given Guam’s remote location. It took nearly 200 people from numerous agencies to remove the ship. Report with photos: https://www.stripes.com/branches/navy/2025-12-19/abandoned-ship-naval-base-guam-20142648.html
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