A Norwegian heavy-lift vessel tasked with evacuating the bombed US navy destroyer Cole from a Yemeni port left Dubai in the United Arab emirates, a port official has said.
The official at the Dubai port control room, asking not to be named, told AFP on Tuesday that the MV blue marlin set sail for Aden but would first make a brief stop off another Emirati port, Khor Fakkan.
The USS Cole, crippled since the October 12 bombing that killed 17 US sailors and injured 38 others on board, could be moved by the end of this week, a senior US government official said on Monday.
The Cole is towable, pushable, movable, (but) not under its own steam, He said, adding that the US navy was assessing the basic logistical issues of finding the right water depth for the Manoeuvre to be carried out.
The US government has signed a $4.5 million contract with the Norwegian owners of the Blue Marlin to transport the billion-dollar guided-missile warship back to the United States.
Bureau Report