The wreckage was cleared by a specialist demolition contractor.

The salvage team removed fuel from the ship by drilling a hole in the hull and pumping the fuel out. The process, known as "hot tapping", was expected to take up to a week. A boom was placed around the ship, and defuelling commenced. 18 tonnes of fuel was removed on 11 February and 29 tonnes on 12 February. Temporary repairs were made to the hull in preparation for refloating. Sightseers continued to breach the exclusion zone, including two jet skiers