Rough seas and bad weather on Monday were preventing the salvage of the BBC China, which ran aground at Grosvenor Point on the Wild Coast at the weekend.
The Marine Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) said the ship had sent out a mayday signal at 8.45pm on Saturday to say it had hit a sandbank about 150m off the shore along Grosvenor Point, near Mbotyi on the Wild Coast.
MRCC assistant mission coordinator Mlungisi Ngubeni said the Pentow Surveyor and the coast-guard vessel Kuswag 1 remain in attendance and have been monitoring the situation since Sunday afternoon.
”The sea is still too rough for them to attempt anything. But they are assessing the possibility of a salvage weather permitting,” said Ngubeni.
He said a strong current is pushing the ship, causing it to list.
”The strong current is the only problem at the moment. It’s causing the ship to list or tilt.”
Ngubeni stressed that the BBC China is not sinking. He added that there are no signs that the ship is breaking up.
The Pentow Surveyor and Kuswag 1 are also monitoring the more than 1 800 tonnes of bunker fuel aboard.
”The fuel tanks are intact, but there is oil leaking from the bilges … it is very minimal.”
He said it is hoped that the remaining oil can be transferred to other vessels during the salvage operation.
All 16 crew members were airlifted off the ship during a six-hour rescue operation in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Helicopters battled 40-knot winds and 3m swells to rescue the seamen.
The 122m mini-bulk carrier, with two onboard cranes, was said to be carrying 2 800 tonnes of ”steel structures”.
The BBC China was sailing from Port of Spain in the Caribbean to Durban and from there to Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, the MRCC said. — Sapa