A crew from Resolve Marine Group, Inc., from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., successfully recovered a Caterpillar 777D Off-Highway Truck from a lake on Pennsuco Quarry in Medley, Florida. The 777D, an 80 ton haul truck, ended up at the bottom of the lake after a driver lost control of the vehicle.

The lift came on the heels of a comprehensive plan which included underwater dive surveys and fashioning a specially-made device to lift the truck. The means by which the truck was lifted was especially important, due to the fact that the truck’s steering mechanism had to remain undisrubed at the request of officials investigating the cause of the accident.

Given these demands, the Resolve team quickly went to work to design the device, which had to be made sturdy and large enough to fit over the truck’s front and rear ends. The appliance was built by Resolve master welder, Jim Hartwick at the Resolve warehouse in Fort Lauderdale. The massive vehicle, which sank upright on a rock bed, was sitting in an estimated 80 feet of murky water. The jagged rocks lining the lake, coupled with the lack of visibility due to the depth and cloudiness of the water, made the project more difficult than what was initially assessed.

Conditions further worsened with the passing of Hurricane Katrina on Aug. 25, but the crew of commercial divers, marine salvage technicians and crane operators persevered. Just four days after returning to the worksite, the crew, demonstrating exceptional teamwork, successfully extracted the vehicle with the steering mechanism unscathed. The truck was then returned to the owners for further investigation.