Operation to refloat grounded oil rig 'should start in three days'

Officials are hoping that they will be able to refloat the oil rig grounded on the Western Isles within the next three days.

The Transocean Winner was blown ashore on the western side of Lewis during severe weather on August 8 after detaching from its tug en route to Malta from Norway.

A decision on when to start the refloating operation will be taken on Sunday morning, although a team hopes to start the process by Tuesday morning at the latest, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency said.

The rig had 280 tonnes of diesel on board, and two of its four tanks were damaged in the incident, losing up to 53,000 litres of fuel - most of which is thought to hve evaporated.

By Saturday morning, salvage teams had transferred 137 metric tonnes of diesel fuel from the two intact tanks below the waterline, to tanks above the sea level.

A Maritime and Coastguard Agency spokeswoman said preparations to refloat the rig were continuing, and a salvage team remained on board.

She said: "A decision will be made tomorrow morning as to whether the operation to refloat the rig will commence within the next 48 hours.

"During the past 24 hours, further equipment for the refloat operation has been placed on the rig. No pollution has been reported.

"A temporary exclusion zone of 300 metres remains in place."

An investigation into the incident has been launched by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch.