The Dive Site

Another uninsured ship runs aground in SA

29/07/2011

The MT Phoenix ran aground near Ballito in heavy weather earlier this week. All 15 crew were resued safely by SA Airforce helicopters.

However it now sems that the ship, which was being towed to an Indian demolition yard, is uninsured and has been effectively abandoned by the owners.

The vessel reported to be owned by Marika Investments of Lagos, Nigeria by the Equasis ship database has been anchored off South Africa for some weeks after suffering an engine breakdown on its final voyage.

The South African authorities have been pressing for the ship to be removed from their coast for week because of the dilapidated state of the vessel but have been frustrated by the lack of an identifiable interest to take responsibility for the vessel.

The owner initially promised to secure a tug to tow the MT Phoenix to the demolition yard but then stopped responding to the South African authorities who were in the process or organising a judicial sale of the vessel when the ship grounded.

The incident is already being compared to the wreck of the 30,500–dwt Turkish bulker Seli 1 (built 1980) which landed the South Africa’s Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) with a ZAR 24m ($3.44m) bill last year. The Seli 1 still sits off Table View beach, where it is being slowly pounded to pieces by the atlantic winter storms.