The Salvagemasters III

In August 2016, the decommissioned oil rig Transocean Winner will be towed away for dismantling and will run aground on its last voyage along the untouched coast of the Outer Hebrides. While the worried inhabitants of Lewis fear the worst, the masterly efforts of the salvage team will prevent a potentially devastating environmental catastrophe.

In April 2015, a refugee boat with over 700 people on board capsizes on its way from Libya to Italy. Only 28 people survive the biggest refugee catastrophe in the Mediterranean to date. In an unprecedented decision, the Italian government orders the salvage of the wreck from a depth of 370 meters to clarify the course of the disaster. With specially made lifting mechanisms, the sunken ship is salvaged in an elaborate operation.

The skeleton of a cargo ship is found under the rubble of the World Trade Center. It is built like the Independence Hall in Philadelphia from the wood of American white oak. The 200-year-old relics of the ship are now being preserved in Texas. This documentary tells the story of New York City, one of the world's most important trading metropolises, against the backdrop of the terrorist attacks on 11 September.

In October 2015, the cargo ship El Faro in the Bermuda Triangle is hit by a hurricane and disappears from radar. After an extensive search four weeks later, his wreck is discovered, and it becomes clear that all 33 crew members lost their lives. In order to understand how the tragedy came about, it is essential to find the ship's data recorder. With the help of state-of-the-art technology, the US Navy can finally recover it from a depth of 4,500 meters ten months after the catastrophe.

For over 80 years, the Norwegian research vessel "Maud" has been trapped in the pack ice of a remote bay of the Canadian Northwest Passage. The wreck is reminiscent of the pioneering achievements of the famous polar researcher Roald Amundsen. A team of three ambitious Norwegians have set themselves the mammoth task of salvaging the ship under the most difficult conditions and returning it to the Bay of Oslo, where it was once built. On display are archive footage of Roald Amundsen's expeditions, as well as footage of the salvage operations and interviews with the Norwegian salvage team.