Due to exposure to the corrosive environments of humidity and ocean salt spray all of the public playgrounds on Saipan have sustained considerable damage over time. Much of the components have completely corroded posing a hazard to all users.
In early 2007 Seafix conducted a cursory inspection of all the playgrounds on the island of Saipan and discovered how hazardous their conditions were, and so because of this Seafix embarked on a community project to repair two of the badly dilapidated playgrounds which got the most usage. Starting with the Micro Beach equipment, Seafix disassembled and transported the parts to the Lower Base facility for further work. Once there, our personnel were able to weld, fabricate and paint the parts for the playground.
The second project, the Susupe playground, was a much larger and popular playground located at the Kilili Beach area. The condition of that playground was so unsafe that it caused numerous injuries to the children using it. Once again Seafix was able to completely renovate the playground and return it to a safe place to play.
SEAFIX, Inc. was hired in June 2005 to remove the Nago No. 15.The initial shipbreaking began with the vessel in place. Salvagers cut away and removed as much of the exposed cabin and hull as possible to increase the vessel’s buoyancy. They used a raft with a block and tackle to move the engine blocks and pieces of the house and hull on deck and transport them to shore where it was sorted. Recyclable metal scrap was separated from non-recyclable materials, e.g., fiberglass, wood, foam, glass, etc.
The crew removed over 20 tons of debris from the Nago No. 15 before attempting to pull her to shore on January 31st from the beach staging area. Operation planners chose this location to provide a tow path clear of large coral heads. Using a winch and boom truck, they moved the vessel approximately 100’ inland before it grounded again. Removing additional weight was necessary before they could attempt another pull out.
By February 7th, 2006 the vessel was light enough for SEAFIX, Inc. to take advantage of surging wave conditions and the rising tide to buoy the vessel and pull it to shore. The salvage crew finished dismantling the hull and separating the pieces at the beach staging area. Containment booms were deployed during the pull out and absorbent pads were available in case of residual oil. No spillage occurred.