Salvage of grounded MV Ultra Galaxy underway in South Africa
Written by Marine Log Staff
Photo: SAMSA
Work on extracting contents onboard a grounded Panama-flagged general cargo vessel, the MV Ultra Galaxy, now virtually beached almost on its side, in a remote coastal area of the Western Cape, South Africa, northwest of Cape Town, is fully underway, says the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA).
MV Ultra Galaxy (previously known as Thor Galaxy and Thorco Galaxy) is a 124.56-meter-long general cargo vessel built in 2008. Reportedly is owned by Fujita Shoji and managed by Denmark-based dry bulk operator Ultrabulk.
Confronted by bitterly cold, wet and very windy weather conditions – predicted to endure till next week – in a remote coastal area known as Duiwegat, characterised by a patchy, rocky landscape with stretches of soft sandy beaches, teams of salvage workers began gathering en masse, with speed on Tuesday, with the single objective of relieving the stricken vessel of its cargo.
This, according to SAMSA, comprises mainly its low sulfur fuel, hydraulic oils and its shipment of fertilizer.
The salvage work is being coordinated by an Incident Management Organization (IMOrg) led team of officials and experts made up of representatives of diverse groups of stakeholders from both the public, private and nongovernmental sectors.
The IMOrg, led jointly by the Department of Transport and SAMSA, is South Africa’s joint Government and industry preparedness forum launched in 2017 for oil spills. Its membership is drawn broadly from across various sectors of society inclusive of State departments, private sector industries, enviromental groups, as well as other non-governmental institutions.
SAMSA reported in a statement late on Thursday that: “Salvage work is continuing on the stricken Panama-flagged cargo ship, MV Ultra Galaxy, which has gone aground off the coast of Duiwegat just South of Brand se Baai on the West Coast.
“Expert salvage teams are now on site conducting a survey of the surrounding areas and the vessel. All efforts are currently focused on preparing the equipment that will allow salvors to access the vessel once the heavy weather subsides.
“Pollution clean-up teams are already working on removing flotsam from the beaches. Additionally, SAMSA has issued a Navigation Warning to all ships in the area to be on the lookout for any flotsam, as these may present a danger to navigation,” said SAMSA.
According to SAMSA, the vessel was sailing to Dar es Salaam in Tanzania when it was abandoned by its crew of 18 Filipino seafarers after developing an excessive list followed by a subsequent grounding at 22h06 (local time) on Tuesday evening.
