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Tag: South Africa

Time for Thanks

Time for Thanks

The 57 foot fishing vessel Deshan Lanka caught fire and partially sank off the Cape of Good Hope, South Africa on October 29, 2011.  The fire forced all four crewmen to abandon ship into the life raft.   The men then spent the next three days and nights without food or water.  The raft drifted off the coast of South Africa until it was some 20 kilometers off shore.  There it was within range to send a call.  The crew sent out a distress call which was received by the NSRI.  They launched a lifeboat which rescued the four men off  Mossel Bay.  Reports state all four crewmen were in good shape.

The crew of the Deshan Lanka were very fortunate to have detained prior while bunkering in East London, South Africa.  The trawler was enroute from Sri Lanka to Sierra Leone when it had stopped in East London.  There it was detained by the South African Maritime Safety Authority because the vessel had no marine VHF Radio, life jackets, red distress flares or life raft on board.  The Deshan’s owner purchased the equipment so that the fishing vessel could proceed.   A few days later those items who save the lives of the men on board.   While rarely praised for the efforts, the safety inspection from the Maritime Safety Authority and the NSRI lifeboats gave four men reasons to be thankful.

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Recall 2009: Margaret

Recall 2009: Margaret

The 67 meter long tug Salvilliant had the new barge Margaret under tow and was headed to Rotterdam, Netherlands.   The Margaret was a new 100 meter long, 500 ton barge.  The Margaret had left Shanghai, China with 12 river barges and two dry docks.  The cargo sat 8 stories high and worth some US $40M.

On June 24, 2009, the two vessels were off the Cape, when they encountered a severe storm with gale force winds and waves reaching 9 meters.  The storm was too much and the towline parted.  The Margaret went adrift.   The crew of the Salvilliant attempted to reconnect the line, but were not able to before the Margaret was hard aground near the village of Jacobsbaai (Jacobs Bay).

The Margaret sat in its location as wind, waves and weather beat against the hull.   By November 2009, four river barges were damaged beyond repair while the Margarets hull deteriorated.   By February 2010, attempts to free the barge had all failed and the owner was out of money.  This left the Margaret under the responsibility of the South African authorities.  They decided that that the Margaret needed removal and hired a demolition firm. On March 5, 2010, the Margaret was finally destroyed by explosives.   It took some two and half tons of explosives to blast the wreck.   Some of the cargo was saved.  Six of barges slid off the vessel and were towed away.  The remainder was sunk to form an artificial reef.

More Photos and Info:

bokkom.co.za

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Phoenix Off South Africa

Phoenix Off South Africa

The 164 meter long bulk freighter Phoenix went aground in heavy seas in Christmas Bay near Durban, South Africa.  The Phoenix was under the control of a skelton crew as it was headed to India to be scrapped.   As the vessel encountered rough seas, the crew dropped anchor to ride out the bad weather.  However, the anchor line broke and the vessel began to drift towards shore.  A nearby salvage tug attempted to connect a towline to pull the Phoenix to deeper water, but the weather conditions made it impossible.   Waves were 4 to 6 meters and winds reached up to 30 knots.  Pushed by the waves, the vessel struck bottom some 200 meters from the shore.   The NSRI responded sending out three helicopters who airlifted all 15 crew to safety.   A salvage company has already begun operations, but it is likely the vessel will be cut for scrap where it currently rests.

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