Stranded ship: No SA probe

2003-08-22 17:14

Cape Town - There will be no formal South African inquiry into the grounding of the container vessel Sealand Express, which remains fast on sand off Sunset Beach near Milnerton, Cape Town.

"There won't be a formal inquiry. We opted not to go that route," SA Maritime Safety Authority (Samsa) operations manager Captain Bill Dernier told Sapa on Friday afternoon.

The reason was there had been "no purposeful grounding of the ship".

The Sealand Express went aground during a storm early on Tuesday morning after dragging her anchor. To date, three attempts to pull the ship off the sand have been unsuccessful.

Dernier said an inquiry into whether there had been any "negligence and incompetence" on the part of the ship's master that could have led to the grounding would be carried out by the United States Coast Guard (USCG).

The Sealand Express sails under an American flag.

USCG representatives arrived in South Africa on Wednesday to begin a probe.

"The Coast Guard will sanction the master if he is found to have been negligent or incompetent," Dernier said.

In terms of South African legislation, Samsa did not have to hold an inquiry.

"You may decide not to do so," he said.

Dernier said he would be comparing notes with the USCG representatives, which would contribute to a confidential report.

This would not be made public.

On Tuesday this week, a source at the port of Cape Town told Sapa the Sealand Express went aground over a period of more than two hours despite repeated warnings from port control.

Maritime experts have also questioned why the master of the vessel did not start up his engines and move away from the looming shoreline, or deploy a second anchor if the one he had out was dragging.

Dernier has declined to comment on these issues.

He on Friday also ruled out the use of a dredger to remove the sand from close to the Sealand Express, saying this would be hazardous.

- SAPA