Storms hamper grounded cargo vessel salvage

Resolve Marine and Smit International were called in to salvage the vessel, which had 500 tons of low sulphur fuel, hydraulic oils and fertiliser.on board, before she broke up into four sections at the weekend.

On July 9 the crew of 18 on MV Ultra Galaxy were picked up by rescue vessels after she began severely listing along the coast of South Africa in the Atlantic Ocean, says the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA).

The vessel then ran aground and salvors were called in to prevent the cargo spill and remove the cargo.

Resolve Marine built a platform on the vessel to heat and pump the oil from it, and Smit International was also called in, says SAMSA, before storms started causing havoc.

“At one stage, 6.8-meter swells struck the wreck every 15 seconds, and the massive force of this constant battering caused the accommodation section to first break off, which then led to a number of larger cracks on the hull, forward of the accommodation,” SAMSA said.

“Severe and disruptive weather that battered the Western and Northern Cape coastline and over the past three days caused the vessel to break into four sections and one fuel tank ruptured causing an oil spill on to the immediate beach area,” SAMSA said.

“Continuous monitoring of the vessel is being conducted through both aerial and surface surveys to track the extent of the spill and its environmental impact.”

More than 100 people are now mopping up coastal areas under South Africa;s Oil Spill Contingency Plan, with heavy swells and waves having washed the oil onto beaches.

MV Ultra Galaxy was built in 2008, is Panama flagged and 124 metres in length. She was on her way to Dar es Salaam in Tanzania.