Water has been successfully pumped out of the bulk carrier that started taking on water in heavy seas off KwaZulu-Natal and the vessel is no longer listing, officials said late on Saturday night.
A spokesperson for the Maritime Rescue Coordinating Centre (MRCC) in Cape Town said the ship was due in Durban at about 11am on Sunday.
He said the Shearwater was sailing in moderate weather in a wind of 10 to 15 knots with the tug Pentow Service sailing alongside. ”It’s no longer a distress situation. We’re just monitoring,” said the spokesperson.
The Shearwater sent out a distress call at 5.50am on Saturday after it started taking on water. Two South African Air Force helicopters from Durban and a National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) vessel from Richards Bay headed out to help.
When they arrived, the Shearwater said it had the situation under control and was pumping out the water. By late morning, another MRCC spokesperson said rescuers were standing by and monitoring the situation.
He said the Shearwater, owned by the Seychelles Shipping Line, took on water because one of its top hatches was not properly closed. This was attended to and the crew was pumping the water out of the hold.
NSRI Richards Bay station commander Harvey Moir said earlier the NSRI vessel would escort the ship for some way and then head back to Richards Bay.
”Once the air-force helicopters arrived on scene, the captain of the ship reported that they had managed to contain the situation and were sailing towards Richards Bay and, with the stabilising of the situation, he no longer required his crew to be airlifted,” said Moir.
Moir said the Shearwater captain reported that the ship’s water pumps had the situation under control.
”The ship’s captain had to make a critical decision of either abandoning the ship or continuing to fight to save the ship.”
Moir said when the rescue team headed out, the Shearwater was reported to be taking on water and listing at eight degrees at a position 30 nautical miles off St Lucia in 7m swells and 30-knot winds. Swells later increased to 9m.
”The ship’s captain reported that there were fears the ship would sink and required urgent assistance,” said Moir.
The MRCC activated the air force and NSRI air sea rescue team, and they initially planned to airlift the non-essential crew from the vessel.
The 92m Shearwater was on its way from Mombasa in Kenya to Durban with 12 crew and a cargo of soda ash, which is used in the manufacture of glass, various chemicals and detergents. — Sapa