Attempt to be made to refloat the grounded container ship Safmarine Agulhas

Jun 28, 2006
Author: SMIT

East London, Wednesday 28th June, 2006 15h00: SMIT Salvage will attempt to refloat the grounded 'Safmarine Agulhas' on this evening's high tide, between 17h00 and 18h00.

The 'Safmarine Agulhas' ran aground shortly after exiting the Port of East London on Monday night. The salvage tug 'Smit Amandla' and additional National Ports Authority harbour tugs from the Port of East London will be used in the operation. The 'Smit Amandla' is due to arrive in East London by mid-afternoon today and is the Department of Transport's pollution standby tug managed by the South African
Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA), which released it for this operation.

Should refloating efforts not be successful, salvors will reassess the vessel's structural integrity and determine an appropriate salvage plan, which could include further refloating attempts and/or the removal of all fuel oil onboard - under the instruction of the SAMSA. The vessel has 662 tonnes of heavy fuel on board and 88 tonnes of diesel oil.



Shipping operations are continuing as normal in the Port and are not impacted on by the current situation.

The Department of Environmental Affairs & Tourism's oil pollution patrol aircraft 'Kuswag VIII' overflew the casualty this morning and reports no oil pollution. The vessel's structural integrity continues to be monitored by the salvage team, who this morning were onboard the casualty and undertook further inspections of the vessel. A powerful S61 helicopter left Cape Town at 07h00 this morning and arrived in East
London this afternoon and will be used to assist salvors in mobilising necessary equipment and personnel throughout the salvage operation.

Safety of life and the protection of the marine environment remain the top priorities for the 'Safmarine Agulhas' Joint Operations Committee, which met for the first time yesterday morning to assess the situation and will continue to meet daily or as circumstances dictate.

Both proactive and reactive environmental protection measures are in place. The Department of Environmental Affairs & Tourism's Inshore Patrol Vessel 'Victoria Mxenge' arrived on site yesterday and the Department has mobilised oil spill abatement equipment and a team of experts to East London. The oil pollution patrol aircraft 'Kuswag VIII' is stationed in East London and will continue to overfly the
casualty daily so as to monitor the situation with respect to oil pollution. The SMIT oil pollution abatement vessel 'Kuswag IV' is being mobilized to the area as an additional precaution.

The 'Safmarine Agulhas' is a container ship owned by F.A Vinnen & Co Gmbh & Co and deployed on the Europe/South Africa Intermediate service. The vessel is currently on charter to Safmarine Container Lines N.V. She is carrying 469 loaded containers containing varied cargo and 112 empty containers. Safmarine is working with the relevant authorities to ensure that all cargo carried by the 'Safmarine Agulhas' is identified.

Members of the public are kindly requested to stay away from the casualty for their own safety. The presence of wires, cables and vessels being used in the salvage operation could pose a threat to the safety of innocent bystanders not acquainted with this kind of operation. In addition, salvage divers kindly request members of the public who use recreational boats to stay away as the presence of boat propellers
threatens their safety.

Additional information will be released as and when it becomes available.