KARACHI, Feb 13: In their first attempt on Friday, salvagers failed to get the forward portion of Tasman Spirit, the grounded and broken oil tanker, refloated in order to remove the wreck to Gadani beach, said maritime sources.

The international salvagers, who have been working on the forward portion for the last three weeks, are likely to make another attempt to lift up the submerged portion Saturday afternoon. The refloating bid was to be made a few days earlier, but the salvagers had to delay the operation for want of clearance from the CBR, added the source.

In the meantime, the team employed by the Smit Salvage BV managed to carry out necessary repair of the tanks of the forward portion of the ship.

In addition to skimming the leftover oil from different tanks, the operators had to shift about 4,000 tonnes of sand and silt accumulated in the lower parts of the portion, which is lying near the KPT channel since July 27 following the ship's running aground.