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Ship 'warned' about danger
19/08/2003 12:24 - (SA)
Cape Town - The container ship that ran aground at Sunset Beach near Milnerton outside Cape Town during heavy storms early on Tuesday morning ignored repeated warnings it was heading for trouble.
This is according to an official in the Cape Town Port Authority, who said port control first contacted the Sea Land Express, a 246m container ship, at 04:00.
The official, who declined to be named, said the ship was contacted at least twice more before it struck the beach at 06:30.
He said that during one of the radio calls to the vessel, a "cocky American captain said everything was ok".
"When we called again at 06:10 to warn of the danger, he said everything was under control; 20 minutes later, he was aground and calling for tugs."
The official said the ship appeared to have dragged its anchor.
"At one stage, the captain was carrying on about his anchor being too light," he said.
Asked why the Sealand Express had not started up her engines and moved away from the looming coastline, the official said he did not know.
Had a complaint from another captain
He described the incident as "not very seamanlike", and said it was not the first piece of bad seamanship by the Sealand Express.
"When the vessel entered Table Bay on Monday, he anchored on top of another ship in the bay. We had a complaint from the captain of the other ship," said the official.
Mariners refer to this as a "foul berth".
A seaman at the scene of the grounding in Milnerton said at 11:30 the damage to the Sealand Express was likely to be minimal.
"She's in the surf, although the bottom here is sandy," said the seaman, who declined to be named.
He said some of the ship's bottom plates might be "set in", a nautical term meaning they are pushed up.
"But it's unlikely she's leaking," he said.
The seaman also told Sapa the Sea Land Express' second anchor appeared not to have been used. It was clearly visible from the shore in the vessel's bow hawser pipe.
Earlier on Tuesday, Cape Town harbour master Captain Edward Bremner said the Sealand Express had dragged her anchor and touched the beach due to the bad weather conditions.
"At the moment, the salvage tug is putting up a tow line and once that is complete they will pull her into the water."
Bremner was not certain how many crew were on board, but said no one was in danger.
"The main thing now is to get the container vessel back into the sea."
He said it was difficult to say at that stage what damage was done to the vessel.
Bremner said weather conditions were still treacherous, with heavy seas and strong winds.
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