A CRIPPLED car carrier – listing heavily in swells off the South African coast – was under way on Monday under its own power and heading for a sheltered bay, a ports representative said. Terry Taylor said engineers on board the Panamanian-registered Modern Drive had got the ship’s engines going and that it was headed for shelter at Algoa Bay, on South Africa’s southeast coast. “At this stage she’s steaming under her own power and seems to be out of danger,” he said. The ships’ engines were damaged after a fire on Saturday. The vessel, owned by Hyundai Merchant Marine, drifted some nine kilometres off East London and at one stage came as close as three nautical miles from the coast. The ship requested a US Coast Guard vessel, the USS Sherman, which was towing her, to release its hauling lines. The Sherman is on a goodwill visit to South Africa and was the closest ship to heed the distress call of the car-carrier, which was listing 20 degrees to starboard on Saturday. – AFP