Marine authority works to prevent oil spill from grounded ship

Salvage operations were in high gear on Thursday to prevent a potential oil spill and pollution along the west coast from a grounded general cargo vessel, authorities said.

The Panama-flagged Ultra Galaxy ran aground close to Doring Bay, 300km north of Cape Town, late on Tuesday after it started listing badly. Its 18-strong Filipino crew abandoned the ship while at sea and there are concerns over the potential for an oil spill.

“Salvage operations are continuing at high speed to minimise the risk of pollution and assess the condition of the cargo on the stricken vessel,” said Tebogo Ramatjie, a spokesperson for the SA Maritime Safety Authority (Samsa).

The full crew were successfully rescued from a safety raft by passing vessels after a distress alert was detected at about 3am on Monday, about 60 nautical miles west of Doring Bay, authorities said.

Efforts are focused on preventing a fuel and oil spill as well as salvaging the full cargo load of fertiliser bags from the vessel which was on its way to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Ramatjie said rough sea conditions from a series of cold fronts that had battered SA’s ports were not hampering salvage operations at the moment.

Logistics firm Transnet said on Tuesday it had suspended operations at some ports due to strong winds and waves that had lashed parts of the country.

On Thursday French shipping and logistics company CMA CGM said its ship Benjamin Franklin had lost 44 containers in difficult weather conditions off the coast on Tuesday.

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