Between March 01 and 02, 2006 the southern section of George's Landing Stage, departure point for the Mersey Ferries failed to refloat, after grounding during a particularly low spring tide. This resulted in damage to the northern section of the stage which in turn sank on March 02. These photographs were taken on Saturday February 24, 2007 almost a year after the sinking. An attempt was made during autumn 2006 to salvage the stage but despite efforts of a Mammoet salvage team using the salvage vessel JACOMINA the stage remained sunk in the Mersey silt. It was reported that as quickly as the built-up silt was removed further material was deposited in its place. This let to the suspension of work. Recent reports suggest another salvage attempt may be made in the next few weeks. At the time of the sinking a few local maritime observers, including your web master, predicted that it would still remain sunk twelve months on - and so it has! Included in the views can be seen the Mersey Ferries "wig-wam" booking office and the adjoining "Shanghai Palace" all soon to be demolished to make way for a new Mersey Ferries terminal building. However, one wonders if the remains of the stage will still be there next year? |