Capsized vessel — Efforts stepped up in stormy weather to prevent oil spill and to salvage cargo of fertiliser

Work is under way to extract the contents aboard a grounded Panama-flagged general cargo vessel, the MV Ultra Galaxy, now nearly beached on its side in Duiwegat, a coastal area on South Africa’s west coast, in a bid to contain possible environmental contamination.

Salvage operations are under way for a Panama cargo vessel after it capsized off the coast of Brand se Baai on South Africa’s west coast in the early hours of Monday morning. The 124.56m-long general cargo vessel capsized amid the destructive Western Cape storms this week, with winds of up to 12 knots an hour and a swell of up to between five and six metres at the time of the incident.

With all crew members accounted for, efforts are now being scaled up to contain any possible oil and fuel contamination, according to the South African Maritime Safety Authority (Samsa). 

As the salvage operations continue in bitterly cold, wet and very windy weather conditions – predicted to continue till next week – efforts are now fully focused on relieving the stricken vessel of its cargo and preventing environmental contamination as the vessel contained low sulphur fuel, hydraulic oils and a shipment of fertiliser.

Samsa said efforts are progressing at high speed. Preliminary indications are that the vessel contained a full load of fertiliser in bags, and low sulphur bunkering fuel in addition to hydraulic and related oils.

Samsa spokesperson Tebogo Ramatjie told Daily Maverick, “We have mobilised expert salvage teams on the scene to secure the oil and remove the oil safely from the vessel. At the moment, what they're doing is to assess how best to do that and how best to handle the cargo (fertiliser)that is being carried by the vessel.” 

 Ramatjie said  the teams are still assessing potential spillages, and that to date, the oil has not leaked. "I cannot speak for the cargo, because we don't have that information at hand at the moment to say if it has escaped from the cargo hold,” he said.

The immediate priority was to secure the vessel's contents to make sure that it does not enter the ocean or the surrounding areas at any point. Should anything have been found to have leaked or spilled, Ramatjie said they had a marine chemist and all necessary expertise on site to deal with the situation.

“If you have a ship that is lying on its side in bad weather close to the beach, it's a very serious incident, so we are treating it with the seriousness that it deserves. That is why we have mobilised all the expertise that we could find to make sure that they are continuously assessing the situation and making sure that the cargo, the ship, and the oil on board, is secured – if we need to pump it out, we're going to pump it out safely,” he said.

“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. Additionally, Samsa has issued a navigation warning to all ships in the area to be on the lookout for any flotsam, as these may present a danger to navigation,” Samsa said.

In a media statement following a meeting of the country’s interim incident management organisation (IMOrg), Samsa confirmed that salvage operations had been scaled up, with two tugs already en route to the location of the vessel.

Salvage work is under way on South Africa’s west coast where the MV Ultra Galaxy capsized and ran aground. (Photo: Samsa)

Work is under way to relieve the stranded vessel of its cargo and fuel. (Photo: Supplied / Samsa)

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