A fishing vessel that sank in the Sound of Mull on a Scottish Sea Farms site has finally been re-surfaced, but hundreds of litres of diesel spilled into the water.

Nearly two months after sinking to the bottom of the seabed in the Sound of Mull, the Scottish Sea Farms (SSF) vessel the Julie Anne has been safely raised, bosses have confirmed.

The salmon fishing boat sank on Thursday 4 July, with several failed attempts to re-float it after SSF had initially hoped to have it out of the water within a week.

It was finally recovered on Thursday 29 August after a joint effort from the appointed salvors Jifmar Group and environmental mitigation experts Briggs Marine.

Under the supervision of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, a specialist crane vessel, the Lara 1, directly lifted the Julie Anne out the water, and the investigation into why it sank is now underway.

The Lara 1, preparing to lift the Julie Anne out of the water.The Lara 1, preparing to lift the Julie Anne out of the water. (Image: SSF)

The incident has been the topic of controversy for a number of weeks with environmental activists sending footage to The Herald showing the extent of the fuel spill caused by the Julie Anne’s sinking.

Concerns were raised about the damage the fuel was causing to both the local environment and the salmon farm, with the fish bound for Scottish supermarkets.

SSF say the total estimated diesel fuel loss arising from the vessel’s sinking and recovery over the eight-week period was contained to 200 litres. 

The group’s head of Health and Safety Gerry McCormick, said it was a “small” amount but admitted it was still too much.

He said: “‘We are indebted to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and to specialist contractors Jifmar Group, Briggs Marine and Inverlussa Marine Services.

“Thanks to their collective expertise, we have been able to retrieve the vast majority of the fuel on-board, recover the vessel from the seabed and, crucially, remove the risk of any further small seepages of diesel into the marine environment. 

“Even just one litre of fuel lost to the sea is, however, one litre too many, and our primary focus now is identifying the root cause of the vessel sinking.”

The first attempt to recover the Julie Anne took place on Sunday July 21, using the approved method of lift bags to re-float it, but it proved unsuccessful. A series of test lifts then took place and thereafter led to the decision to change the recovery method.

The specialist crane vessel, the Lara 1, was then brought in to directly lift the Julie Anne after the salvors worked to secure all vents and outlets, removing any excess fuel on-board

The fishing boat was lifted into a containment boom on the water’s surface, where she remained secured alongside the Lara 1 overnight on Thursday.

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Today, the boat will be raised onto the deck of the crane vessel to be checked for any leaks before being lowered back to sea level, ready for towing.

The Julie Anne will then be towed to a secure location where a full inspection will be carried out to identify the cause of the sinking. 

The footage sent to The Herald over the last two months by environmental activist Jamie Moyes showed the diesel from the Julie Anne floating next to the salmon fishing booms and on to the nearby shore.

After the first recovery attempt, a containment boom failed overnight resulting in a spread of diesel sheen, but SSF say it was an isolated incident and additional measures were put in place, ensuring there was "little to zero" sheen in the weeks thereafter.

Mr Moyes who has been camped out at the location for the last seven weeks, sleeping in his van, raised nationwide awareness of the incident and called for a wider review of salmon fishing in Scotland.

Scottish Sea Farms said they have carried out appropriate testing throughout the saga to ensure food safety.

A spokesperson added: “To ensure that the salmon at Scottish Sea Farms’ adjacent Fiunary farm remain food-safe, appropriate testing took place on 5 August 2024 for analysis by specialist external laboratories, the results of which concluded there was no indication of hydrocarbon taint and the salmon are safe for human consumption.

“For added reassurance, fish will now be tested again and analysed. When the results confirm there has been no change, harvesting will begin.”