In a dramatic dawn rescue, crew members were airlifted off a huge cargo ship that ran aground at Buffels Bay near Knysna.
|||Western Cape - In a dramatic dawn rescue, crew members were airlifted off a huge cargo ship that ran aground at Buffels Bay near Knysna early on Thursday.
NSRI rescue crews from Wilderness and Knysna were called out at 3am to assist the Kiani Satu, manned by 19 crew members and carrying a cargo of rice, after it had developed mechanical problems in heavy seas.
Rescue crews, who had been unable to launch their boats because of the weather, watched helplessly in the early dawn as the ship dragged its anchor and ran aground about 50m from the beach in 5m swells.
After a decision was made by the ship’s captain, believed to be a Frenchman, to abandon ship, the NSRI called in a rescue helicopter from George.
Knysna NSRI station commander Graeme Harding said the weather conditions were appalling when four boats from Wilderness and Knysna were dispatched to the scene.
“There were five or six metre seas and the wind was gusting about 40 knots. We were unable to launch our rescue boats and of course it was still dark, so we had to wait until sunrise,” he said.
“Then the ship ran aground some time between 4am and 6am, and we realised that we would have to airlift the crew.”
Harding said even when the helicopter arrived from George, conditions were still too dire to attempt to place an NSRI rescue swimmer on board.
“The ship was still bow out, so there was a very unstable platform for our guy to land on. It actually worked in our favour when the vessel came to rest on a ridge, because it provided the platform we needed.
“The ship is massive.”
The NSRI’s rescue swimmer was then able to lift crew members off one at a time after a winch was lowered on to the deck. The helicopter made several return trips before all crew members were safely on the beach.
Indwe Aviation flight engineer Robert Woodrup, who was on board the Sikorski 76 rescue helicopter, described the conditions as “scary”.
“The ship was very unstable, and the stern was rolling, making the operation very awkward. The weather was really bad. The waves were big. It had run aground about 50m from the shore, but it was still difficult,” he said.
“We were obviously very focused on getting them off the boat, so I didn’t talk to the crew much, but I could tell there were a couple who were very relieved to finally be off the vessel. It must have been a long night for them.”
The ship was going to Gabon when disaster struck.
The crew, who are mostly Ukrainian and Filippino, were taken to Mossel Bay for visa control processing. They were then put up in a Mossel Bay hotel and last night some were joking and talking in the bar.
Afrishore Shipping, who said they were responsible for the logistics on behalf of the owners of the vessel, forbade the media to interview the crew.
The Smit Amandla salvage vessel was last night on its way to assess the damage to the Kiani Satu, believed to be carrying about 330 tons of fuel.
The salvage operations will be assisted by another company, Subtech.
“We commend the quick response to the incident by the rescue agencies,” Tourism MEC Alan Winde said in a statement to Sapa.
“It is in the middle of a nature reserve and one of the Garden Route’s popular tourism sites.
“While there no current threat to the environment, we hope the ship is towed off soon before this turns into another Seli 1.”
The Turkish bulk carrier Seli 1 ran aground off Bloubergstrand in September 2009. - Cape Times