Oceanlinx wave device still awaits removal

The removal of the stranded Oceanlinx 1MW wave energy device has not started yet due to delays with Federal Court proceedings, the Australian media report.

Oceanlinx’ wave energy device, dubbed greenWave, sank during transportation from Port Adelaide to Port MacDonnell over three years ago.

Since then, it has been stranded 1.4 km off Carrickalinga, a coastal town in South Australia, despite claims that it would be removed within a year.

The removal of the device is being stalled by Federal Court proceedings, according to ABC News, which has cited the spokeswoman from the South Australian Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure (DPTI), who said the plans to remove the unit are being halted until the conclusion of court proceedings.

Due to the accident with the unit, Oceanlinx subsequently went into liquidation, and Vaughan Strawbridge and Jason Tracy, were appointed as the joint administrators.

Vaughan Strawbridge denied the court proceedings were delaying the removal, ABC News reports, stating that they were related to creditor seeking access to funds.

Strawbridge reportedly added the liquidators renounced the unit due to lack of funds to remove it, adding that the government and interested parties were notified about it, ABC reports.

To remind, the contract for the removal of another Oceanlinx unit, a 500kW device that sank before the greenWave and was left stranded off New South Wales since 2009, was awarded to Polaris Marine in September 2016.