A 17,000-tonne oil rig that ran aground in the Outer Hebrides has been safely towed off the rocks by two tug boats.
A Stornoway coastguard spokesman confirmed to the Press Association that the Transocean Winner drilling rig was “safely off the rocks and now under tow” as of 10.10pm on Monday.
It comes a fortnight after the semi-submersible structure was blown ashore in bad weather at Dalmore Bay, near Carloway on the Isle of Lewis, during a towing operation.
The two tug boats are towing the rig to the east side of Lewis in Broad Bay, where experts are expected to assess the condition of the rig.
Salvage team Smit agreed the latest towage plan – which was focused around high water on Monday night.
The towline between the rig and its tug was lost en route from Norway to Malta amid high winds and heavy seas in the early hours of Monday August 8.
The rig grounded with 280 tonnes of diesel on board and two of its four fuel tanks were damaged in the incident.
It resulted in the loss of up to 53,000 litres of fuel, most of which is thought to have evaporated.
The remaining 200 tonnes of hydrocarbons, mainly diesel oil with small amounts of base oil and brine, were transferred from the rig to the supply vessel Olympic Orion at the weekend.
A 300m exclusion zone around the rig will remain in place while the salvage work continues.
There will also be a 1km exclusion zone around the Transocean Winner while it is being towed from Dalmore Bay to Broad Bay, on the east coast of Lewis, some 54 miles (87km) away.
