Debris Washes Ashore in South Africa from Grounded Cargo Ship

South African officials are warning that the fertilizer cargo and debris from the grounded bulker Ultra Galaxy is washing ashore after the vessel was pounded by a week of bad weather. Breaks in the weather are permitting the salvage operations to proceed for the vessel that grounded on a remote part of the Atlantic coast northwest of Cape Town.

“Salvage work on the grounded Panama-flagged cargo ship, MV Ultra Galaxy, continued over the weekend,” the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) reported in its latest update. The 13,800 dwt vessel assumed an extreme list a week ago during storms off South Africa and was abandoned. It later was driven ashore and remains on its side.

SAMSA reports with a break in the weather between cold fronts reaching the region helicopters and teams have begun a full survey of the vessel and the surrounding area. They are investigating the structural integrity of the vessel as they work on plans to remove the fuel oil.

Hatch covers from the vessel were dislodged in the waves and are coming ashore (SAMSA)

“In light of the recent extreme weather, the ship’s hatch covers were dislodged and detached from the vessel, leaving the cargo holds vulnerable. Consequently, a significant portion of the ship’s fertilizer cargo was swept away by the sea,” SAMSA reports. They are warning that cargo bags and the steel hatch covers as well as other flotsam could be a danger to shipping as they continue to wash ashore.

Several of the hatch covers have been located “strewn across a beach,” according to SAMSA. Drift patterns however show that additional debris is likely to move in a southerly direction from the wreck. One of the photos released by SAMSA also shows the vessel’s lifeboat washed ashore on the rocky coast while cargo bags litter the beach.

Various debris including the lifeboat and bags from the fertilizer now cover the coastline after a week of storms (SAMSA)

Most of the fertilizer they believe likely dissolved in the sea water but the bags continue to wash ashore. An environmental monitoring program has also been established in the region.

Teams that have been able to reach the vessel are working to remove the remaining cargo from the ship. With a window of good weather, they expect to expand the operations over the next few days. In addition, divers have started to seal the fuel tanks to prevent any of the oil from spilling into the ocean. They are also planning for the extraction of the fuel oil from the ship.

The 18 crewmembers, all of whom were from the Philippines, were flown home. They arrived in the Philippines on Sunday receiving assistance from the government for their trips to their homes.

SAMSA believes at this time the vessel poses no new environmental threats, but says the monitoring will continue. They plan to put further preventive measures in place while planning for the salvage operation continues.