Work to raise a Ukrainian ship that sunk after colliding with a Chinese vessel near China's southern coast on March 22 will take two weeks, the South China Morning Post said Thursday according to RIA Novosti.
Earlier attempts to pull the Ukrainian tug, Naftogaz-67, to shallow waters failed, as the ship's mast is embedded 7 meters into the seabed. Out of the 25 crew members on board at the time of the collision, only seven have been rescued, and divers have recovered three bodies.
The Hua Tian Long, the largest-floating crane in Asia has arrived at the site to assist in the salvage operation, involving four auxiliary tugs, three barges and a floating derrick.
The vessel will be raised, repaired and towed to land under an agreement signed by the Chinese company conducting the search and rescue operation and by the vessel owner.
A search will be carried out once the tug has been lifted out of the water to try and locate the remaining 15 missing crew members.
Ukraine's Deputy Transport Minister Vasyl Shevchenko said using the Hua Tian Long crane in the salvage operation would cost Ukraine $250,000 per day.