MV Petrel back in the water more than a month after toppling over in dry dock

A vessel owned by the US Navy which toppled over in an Edinburgh dry dock, leaving dozens injured, is floating again.

The MV Petrel is back in the water at the Leith dockyard, more than a month after a huge emergency service response was sparked when the boat ended up at a 45-degree angle.

When the 3,371-tonne vessel toppled over on March 22, 35 people were injured, with 23 taken to hospital and 12 treated at the scene.

Worker Constantin Pogor, 48, previously told of being thrown from one side of the ship to the other as he worked onboard, dislocating his elbow and fracturing his pelvis.

“I heard a loud noise, felt movement and I just had this reflex reaction to try and hold on to something but I didn’t get to grab on to anything,” he said, adding that he “flew from one side of the bridge to the other”.

A Police Scotland spokesman said on Tuesday: “Officers are working with the Health and Safety Executive. Inquires are ongoing to establish the full circumstances.”

The 76-metre Petrel was once owned by late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, who bought the ship to locate historically significant shipwrecks and discovered 30 sunken warships, including the Japanese Imperial Navy’s IJN Musashi.

The Isle of Man-registered vessel was sold to the US Navy last year, and is now operated by American-owned firm Oceaneering International.

The Petrel has been moored at Imperial Dry Dock in Leith since September 3 2020 due to “operational challenges” from the pandemic.

After it tipped over, a major emergency service operation was launched, which included trauma teams, an air ambulance and the coastguard, who all worked for hours to rescue people from the ship.

The US Navy has been approached for comment.