The Alaska Plaza, an 80-foot barge that capsized and sank at the Port McNeill government dock on Christmas Eve, then sunk again on Jan. 8, has risen from its watery grave.

Private contractors brought in by Environment Canada, who worked under the supervision of the coast guard, finally managed to resurface the barge last week.

The barge actually had to be partially cut apart by divers from Colmor Marine & Salvage, located in the Comox Valley, who ended up removing the entire top floor in order to raise it from the depths.

Divers worked for weeks using underwater torching devices to cut through and remove the top floor in sections, which came out to roughly around 35 to 40 tonnes of steel.

The Alaska Plaza is a steel accommodation barge owned and operated by Croman Corp. of Oregon USA. Croman will be fully responsible for the cleanup, and the coast guard told media that the environmental impact is likely to be minimal.

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