2nd towing attempt on Cape Town shipwreck

2012-05-18 13:22

Efforts to tow the stranded Japanese ship from Clifton beach will resume. (Duncan Alfreds, News24)

Duncan Alfreds

Cape Town - Towing operations on the Japanese fishing vessel will resume at high tide on Friday, the South African Maritime Safety Association (Samsa) has said.

The Eihatsu Maru became stuck on the sand at Clifton beach on Saturday morning and efforts to tow the vessel out to sea have hit obstructions with rough seas and the size of the ship.

Towing operations were suspended on Tuesday after the cable snapped and workers deployed a helicopter with a bladder as fuel was pumped out of the 50m long-line fishing vessel in an effort to lessen the weight and aid buoyancy.

High tide in Cape Town on Friday is at about 14:00 and Samsa said that officials were in the process of securing the cable so that the vessel could be towed out to sea.

"Salvors are currently strengthening the back of the ship in preparation of a stronger effort to tow the stricken vessel," Samsa told News24.

The fishing vessel was tracked along the South African coast prior to the incident and some are questioning whether the incident could have been a deliberate act.


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