Castillo de Salas (ship)

Castillo de Salas was a Spanish bulk carrier that was launched in Ferrol on 20 December 1979 and completed in August 1980. It measured over 50,000 gross tons, and had a deadweight of over 100,000 tons, measuring approximately 250 m in length, 40 m across the beam, and 14.5 m in the draft. It required a crew complement of 32.

Wreck and salvage
During the morning of 11 January 1986 Castillo de Salas, owned by the Spanish company Elcano, ran aground over rocks 740 m north northwest of Gijón. The ship was anchored outside Gijón's seaport (El Musel) when the ship's anchor came loose in bad weather. Efforts to re-anchor, self-propel and even tow the ship away from the coast failed due to harsh seas. The cargo was nearly 100,000 MT of coal loaded in Norfolk, Virginia as well as over 1000 t of fuel oil used for propulsion. On 15 January 1986 the hull broke in two during efforts to bring the ship afloat, therefore releasing a spill of diesel oil and coal ore.

On 23 February 1986 the bow half of the hull was refloated, towed 39 mi into the sea and scuttled in waters of 4000 m in depth. Officials stated that no diesel oil was left in the bow section of the hull. During the following spring, the company Fondomar was tasked with salvaging the remainder of the stern portion of the hull.

Second salvage of the stern section
Small balls of decomposed oil were found sporadically until 2001, when a major find of these balls was confirmed to be from fuel remaining in the double bottom fuel tank of the stern section that was not removed in 1986. This led to a second salvage operation to remove the fuel during 2001–2002 and the complete removal of the remainder of the wreck in 2003 due to public out-cry.

Trophies
On 15 November 2003 Gijón artist Joaquín Rubio Camín's sculpture "Memoria" (Memory) was unveiled on the Camino del Cervigón overlooking the sea. The sculpture was made using part of the remains of Castillo de Salas which sank off Gijón and were recovered earlier in the year.

One of the ship's anchors is displayed in the Philippe Cousteau Anchor Museum in Salinas beach, Spain, 30 km west of Gijón.

Side effects
Since the incident, it has been common to find dark sand contaminated with coal on the beaches in the Bay of Gijón, particularly after rough sea conditions. The amounts recovered continue to reduce over time, but patches of dark coloured sand, high in black coal particles, can be seen at low tide.