BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) – Salvage teams on Sunday raised the first section of a Norwegian-registered tanker from the bottom of the North Sea, where it sank eight months ago with thousands of luxury cars on board.

Two floating cranes took about 12 hours to lift the 3,000-ton stern – including part of the engine room, the propeller and some of the cargo – of the Tricolor from its resting place about 35 yards below the surface in one of the world’s busiest sea lanes.

The wreckage was set on a barge and was to be brought to the Belgian port of Zeebrugge early Monday, said Lars Walder, spokesman for the Dutch-Belgian consortium Combinatie Salvage Tricolor.

A small oil slick seen in the area probably came from the engine, Walder said. He estimated the spill at 13-26 gallons, far less than the 3,000 gallons that leaked from the wreck and onto Belgian and Dutch beaches last winter.

“We know there’s still a little oil in there,” he said. “That’s why we have a special anti-pollution (oil recovery) ship alongside.”

The 16-year-old Tricolor sank Dec. 14 after colliding with the Bahamas-flagged container ship Kariba in thick fog about 20 miles north of the French city of Dunkirk.

Removing the wreckage became a priority after the Turkish tanker Vicky, carrying 25 million gallons of diesel fuel, struck it Jan. 1 despite warnings, as did two other ships. Most of the Vicky’s cargo was off-loaded onto another ship, averting a larger disaster.

The $40 million Tricolor salvage effort began last month and is expected to finish by October.

Salvage workers are sawing the wreck into nine pieces with a specially designed, diamond-encrusted wire. Its cargo of 3,000 BMWs, Saabs and Volvos will be junked.

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On the Net:

Consortium: http://www.tricolorsalvage.com

AP-ES-08-03-03 1711EDT