The wreck of the Campbell Cove was allowed to drain Thursday night and into Friday morning while connected to the cranes of the AAL Melbourne.

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This decision by AAL Melbourne and United Salvage was taken to reduce its weight to simplify the securing of the Campbell Cove to the deck.

TasPorts said allowing the wreck to dewater or drain what is largely sea water, mud and silt is an important part of the overall salvage process.

TasPorts said this happens in the containment area because of oil or diesel expected to be contained in that waste. They said the containment area was skimmed overnight.

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TasPorts is closely monitoring the situation given Thursday's rain and the possibility that some diesel found its way outside the containment area.

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The second sunken tug has officially been removed from the Mersey River.

On Thursday evening, TasPorts confirmed the Campbell Cove wreck had been lifted, to be secured on board the AAL Melbourne.

TasPorts Chief Operating Officer Stephen Casey said the removal had been a "highly complex salvage effort", which involved TasPorts' insurer, Shipowners and salvor United Salvage.

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"The York Cove was removed from the river on Sunday, but the additional complexities including the way the Campbell Cove was sitting in an unbalanced position when first lifted yesterday, meant the wreck's final salvage could not be completed until (Thursday)," he said.

"This made the potential lift unsafe and nearly impossible to successfully lift the wreck into the specially constructed cradle waiting for it on the AAL Melbourne."

The Campbell Cove was removed and dewatered into the containment area, where any diesel or oil that drains from the wreck can be skimmed off.

Once on board the AAL Melbourne, the Campbell and York Coves will be taken to a salvage yard to be turned into scraps.

Following their removal from the incident site a marine safety inspection and assessment will be completed to confirm any damage done to the wharf.

Mr Casey said the protection of the environment was key during the salvage effort.

"An update on the Wildlife Response team check of little penguin colonies late Wednesday night saw no sign of oil within the colonies at Don Heads Lillico," he said.

"Around 30 penguins were seen under spotlight, and all were behaving normally and had no signs of oiling."

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