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| Freeing the Artemis |
 Early in March, as storms battered France, the 289-foot Dutch cargo liner Artemis ran aground on beach of Sables-d'Olonne in France. Waves of up to 20 feet and 40 mph winds hammered the Artemis as she made for port, pushing her approximately a third of a mile away from the pier.
Pollution was not feared as the Artemis was empty at the time. All six crew members on board were unharmed during the storm, which coincided with spring tides to cause rivers near the coast to overflow their banks. In Morbihan, over 140 houses flooded. In the town of Port-Launay, 30 houses, 16 cars and a restaurant flooded.
A recovery mission for the Artemis began almost immediately after beaching. The Salvage Team of Les Abeilles International, utilizing 25 years of experience, made the recovery under extremely difficult conditions.
Pools were dug around the hull of Artemis with onshore mechanical equipment to cut down on hull friction and free the freighter from the sand. After three attempts to move the ship during low tides, a different rigging was used and the ship made noticeable movement towards the sea despite the crashing of 20 foot waves and 40 mph winds.
Thanks to a 325 foot basin that had then been dug around the hull and filled with water, the ship was rotated and two tug boats, one pulling and one pushing, made the final push to free Artemis. An inspection was done to the ship to make sure she was seaworthy before she was towed to port.
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