Uploaded April 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
On February 27, 2010, the Chilean Navy was hours away from launching the Cabo de Hornos, one of the most advanced research vessels in the world. Then, an 8.8 magnitude earthquake struck, triggering a massive tsunami that didn't sink the ship—it threw the 2,000-ton vessel hundreds of meters inland, leaving it high and dry on a debris-strewn beach. Traditional salvage methods would have destroyed the delicate $62 million hull. To save it, the world-renowned engineers behind the Kursk submarine recovery were called in. Their radical plan? Use 84 lines of computerized SPMT trailers to lift the ship, drive it over a custom-built ramp, and rotate it 90 degrees onto a waiting barge.
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On February 27, 2010, the Chilean Navy was hours away from launching the Cabo de Hornos, one of the most advanced research vessels in the world. Then, an 8.8 magnitude earthquake struck, triggering a massive tsunami that didn't sink the ship—it threw the 2,000-ton vessel hundreds of meters inland, leaving it high and dry on a debris-strewn beach. Traditional salvage methods would have destroyed the delicate $62 million hull. To save it, the world-renowned engineers behind the Kursk submarine recovery were called in. Their radical plan? Use 84 lines of computerized SPMT trailers to lift the ship, drive it over a custom-built ramp, and rotate it 90 degrees onto a waiting barge.
Subscribe to Spark for more amazing science, tech & engineering videos: goo.gl/LIrlur 🚀
Join the Spark Channel Membership to get access to perks:
youtube.com/channel/UCMV3aTOwUtG5vwfH9_rzb2w/join
You can now become a History Hit member right here on YouTube! Join for access to a new exclusive documentary every week, and access to over 160+ of our documentaries presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, Eleanor Janega, Tristan Hughes, Mary Beard, Matt Lewis and more.
Get an exclusive release every week by signing up here: bit.ly/4pyExyn
Any queries, please contact us at: owned-enquiries@littledotstudios.com
#Spark
