EMEA News
South Africa: Salvage Operation to Remove Fuel oil, Hazardous Materials From Stricken Ship Underway
Low sulphur fuel oil and other hazardous materials are being removed from the striken ship Ultra Galaxy that ran aground northwest of Cape Town, the authorities have said.
The general cargo vessel was sailing to Dar es Salaam when it was abandoned by its crew of 18 seafarers after developing an excessive list followed by a subsequent grounding, according to the South African Maritime Safety Authority.
The focus of salvage operations is the removal the vessel's cargo.
"[The ship] had a full load of fertilizer in bags on board, in addition to its own low sulphur bunkering fuel and hydraulic and related oils," SAMSA said in its latest update on the salvage operation.
Strong winds in the coastal region last week are expected to last into this week. The ship's grounding was reported to the authorities on July 9.
