Update: Salvage of the grounded Panama-flagged cargo vessel, Ultra Galaxy, is fully underway on Cape’s west coast. Work has begun on extracting contents from the grounded ship in a remote coastal area of the western Cape, South Africa, northwest of Cape Town.
The vessel is virtually beached almost on its side in a remote coastal area known as Duiwegat characterised by a patchy, rocky landscape with stretches of soft sandy beaches.
Expert salvage teams are now on site conducting a survey of the surrounding areas and the vessel.
All efforts are currently focused on preparing the equipment that will allow salvors to access the vessel once the heavy weather subsides.
Pollution clean-up teams are already working on removing flotsam from the beaches.
The Panama-flagged general cargo ship Ultra Galaxy that was sailing alongside South Africa on the Atlantic Ocean, which was abandoned by its 18 Filipino seafarers after a heavy listing, has gone to ground, with efforts now underway to prevent a fuel and oil spill.
The South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) reported on Wednesday that attempts are being made to salvage the ship’s fertiliser cargo.
The confirmation of the grounding of the casualty vessel on Tuesday evening around 10 pm local time by the authority, is the latest development after the heavy listing of the vessel, leading to the rescue and evacuation of its crew to Cape Town on Tuesday morning, following their discovery in a life raft.
According to SAMSA, preliminary indications are that the vessel has a full load of fertilizer in bags on board. She also has low sulphur bunkering fuel in addition to hydraulic and related oils.
Other measures are also being undertaken for the containment of any possible spills off the vessel’s cargo contents.
Salvage operations are currently underway for the stricken vessel off the coast of Brand se Baai on the West Coast, with two tugs already enroute to the location of the casualty vessel.
On Monday, one tug was dispatched and arrived at the location on Tuesday. Another tug with more personnel and extra equipment departed from Cape Town on Tuesday evening to assist in the salvage efforts.
The Panama-registered Ultra Galaxy, previously known as Thor Galaxy and Thorco Galaxy, is a 124,56 meters long general cargo vessel, built in 2008.
At the time of its distress call early on Monday, it was reportedly en route to Dar es Salaam in Tanzania.
In a statement on Monday, the authority SAMSA said the rescue effort ensued from very early on Monday after an Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) alert from the vessel Ultra Galaxy, in a position of approximately 60 nautical miles west of Doring Bay, was detected at 0300 local time, prompting an immediate response.
With a May Day immediately broadcast to other vessels in the vicinity, three vessels that were in the region, were diverted to provide assistance.
Three ships closest to the casualty vessel, Fivos, Rio Grande Express and the fishing vessel FV Malachite, responded to the call.
All crew members abandoned their excessively listing vessel in a life raft and were rescued by the FV Malachite and taken to St Helena Bay.
Weather conditions at the time included winds of up to 12 knots per hour and swells between five and six meters.
“The rescue vessels successfully located a life raft in the water and confirmed that there were 18 seafarers – all Filipino – onboard. A coordinated rescue operation ensured the survivors were safely transferred to the FV Malachite and transported to St Helena Bay. With the crew safely rescued, all efforts are now fully focused on salvaging the vessel,” the authority commented.
