The stranded container ship Sealand Express stubbornly resisted another attempt to shift her on Wednesday night.
Three salvage tugs including Smit Marine’s John Ross made the attempt just before 9.30pm, at high tide.
However, after about half an hour of effort, the vessel had not budged from the sandbank off Sunset Beach in Table Bay where she grounded on Tuesday morning after dragging an anchor.
”At the moment she’s still exactly where she was. She hasn’t come off,” said Smit Marine spokesperson Dave Main at 10.30pm.
”High tide has now passed. The next high tide is tomorrow morning.”
Main said the salvors would go through ”all the calculations” during the night and the salvage master would decide on the next step.
”If we do give a pull in the morning it will be at high tide,” he said. High tide is 10.30am.
Earlier a spokesperson for the ship’s operators, US Shipping Management, said water ballast was to be pumped from the vessel before Wednesday night’s attempt.
Spokesperson Clint Eisenhauer said from the United States it was hoped that the improving weather — Cape Town has been battered by a cold front with gale-force winds, snow and towering seas — would help the salvage operation.
Eisenhauer said preparations were also being made to transfer the fuel oil from the vessel if Wednesday night’s salvage attempt was unsuccessful.
”That transfer is being staged to begin by noon tomorrow (South African time),” he said.
”There have been no spills or environmental breaches from the vessel.”
His statement came as government and other agencies in Cape Town went on standby to combat any oil spill from the Sealand Express, which has 3 700 tons of fuel oil in her tanks.
An independent maritime expert, who did not want to be named, said removal of the ship’s fuel was a ”top priority”. This would probably be done by floating a pipe from the vessel to one of the big salvage tugs, and pumping the fuel into the tug’s tanks.
Removal of the fuel would cause the ship to float about half a metre higher, which could be crucial in pulling her off the sand. The expert said one big problem for the salvors was the ship had gone aground on a high tide, and her bottom was well buried in the sand.
”We’re now past the spring high and heading for neap, so in theory each day that goes by means the high tide is not quite so high.
”This means the longer the salvage operation takes, the more difficult the task will become. And the longer she lies there, the more chance of damage.” – Sapa