Salvage Team Prepares to Remove Oil from Grounded Bulker in South Africa

The South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) expects that pumping of the oil from the grounded bulker Ultra Galaxy will start before the end of the week. They are rushing to get the operation underway while a window of relatively calm weather prevails until the weekend.

Speaking to Reuters, the chief operations officer for SAMSA Sobantu Tilayi, reported that U.S.-based Resolve Marine has been appointed to lead the salvage effort. A plan is being completed and they will move quickly to erect a platform at the vessel which will be used to begin pumping the oil from the wreck. They are saying that there are 500 tons of low-sulfur fuel on the bulker as well as hydraulic oil.

Teams have been working this week at removing the remainder of the cargo of bagged fertilizer. Heavy waves and the surf however had dislodged the hatch covers from the 410-foot (125-meter) bulker which is lying on its side ashore on a remote part of the Atlantic coast northwest of Cape Town. SAMSA reported that most of the fertilizer had likely dissolved in the ocean but the plastic bags are washing ashore and remain a navigation hazard. 

Several of the hatch covers have been recovered along the shoreline. SAMSA however warned of potential navigation hazards as debris is likely to drift soft from the wreck. Other debris included the lifeboat which washed ashore.

Resolve the report said plans to begin heating the fuel and pumping it from the tanks of the vessel. SAMSA said so far, the vessel has remained intact which is helping the efforts. If the vessel begins to break apart, they fear the fuel tanks will rupture and begin leaking. 

Salvage teams prepositioned assets at the coast in case of an oil leak. The rough surf however prevented them from stinging any type of containment floating device around the vessel.

South Africa has experienced a series of cold fronts moving across the region creating high winds and heavy rains. Last week, in the high waves the CMA CGM containership CMA CGM Benjamin Franklin lost 44 boxes overboard and others were damaged but remained aboard the vessel. After anchoring off Port Elizabeth, the containership resumed its voyage yesterday bound for France.

The current weather forecast calls for more rain and winds of between 20 to 30 mph in the area around Cape Town on Friday. After that, they expect several days of sunshine and calm weather.