Refloating of ship due to start

2005-06-09 17:58

East London - Attempts to refloat the stranded log carrier Kiperousa were set to get underway late on Thursday afternoon, the SA maritime safety authority (Samsa) said.

Spokesperson Peter Kroon said crews were being airlifted from the stranded vessel onto a tug, the Nikolay Chiker, by helicopter.

The refloating operation would get underway during high tide.

"She either floats or she doesn't. It doesn't take hours to refloat her."

Earlier on Thursday Samsa said it had given permission for the salvage operation to go ahead without the oil being removed from the Kiperousa.

"As removal of the oil from the vessel would be very difficult and time consuming, Samsa has agreed to the salvor's plan to try and get the vessel off the beach as soon as possible."

Small amounts of oil were leaking from the ship, but Samsa said the slick was very thin and was dispersing naturally.

Pollution response teams from the department of environmental affairs were on stand-by if the leakage increased.

The Kiperousa is carrying 250 000 litres of heavy fuel oil and 63 000 litres of diesel oil.

Samsa said the other hazard was that the cargo of heavy logs could enter the water.

Hazard

"There remains the additional hazard of the cargo entering the water, as they would present a navigational hazard and nuisance for some time to come."

The Kiperousa is a 14 921-gross ton log-carrier and was en route from Gabon to Durban to take in fuel oil when it ran aground on a reef off Bhenga, just south of Hamburg in the Eastern Cape, on Tuesday.

"The vessel sustained damage to the ship's bottom which resulted in the engine room being flooded and a total loss of power and facilities."

The crew was evacuated and the vessel assessed, Samsa said in its statement.

"The vessel, although at anchor and afloat when abandoned, unfortunately was blown onto the beach during the night of the 7th (Tuesday night), where she now lies aground."

The salvage master from the international company Tsavliris and a team of South African divers boarded the ship on Wednesday to assess it again.

They reported that it was largely intact.

- SAPA