Another ‘rust bucket’ creates headaches for Samsa in CT

The Western Cape has been alerted once again to the grim realisation its precious and pristine coastline could fall prey to suspect old ships, the dilapidated vessel, Hector, a case in point as she entered the port of Cape Town under tow last week, mandated by the South African Maritime Safety Authority (Samsa). Let it be said, the 30-year-old Cambodianregistered, Syrian-owned “rust bucket” obliged rather reluctantly, its automatic identification system (AIS) apparently switched off after encountering engine problems off Cape Point. She nevertheless made her way without assistance to the relatively safe waters of False Bay where a subsequent inspection determined she was going no place in a hurry. Hector has no insurance covering oil pollution or wreck removal and safety equipment is sadly lacking, the lifeboat cover a year out of date – what Samsa’s Dave Colly terms a real “shoestring” operation. Whether or not the vessel’s owner will entertain the repair bill in the Mother City port is uncertain but if not the burden may yet again fall on the South African taxpayer. Much the same scenario as the costly salvage exercise surrounding the Turkish-owned bulk carrier, Seli 1, which ran aground at Blouberg beach eight months ago and still has to be removed. No sooner had the plight of Hector come to light than two Ghanaian crew members passed a desperate note for help, saying they had not been paid for several months and dearly wished to return home. It now appears the ship, filled with seawater ballast on arriving off the Cape coast, was not en route to the Indian breaker yards as originally thought but intent on loading another cargo. Hector lay idle in Ghana for several months, then sailed on to Benin where the engine problems started, and thereafter to Lagos and Lüderitz. Colly says a “constant stream” of broken-down vessels is being towed past the South African coast, a view echoed by former master mariner, marine surveyor and ship auctioneer, Captain Roy Martin, who points to old ships trying to make their own way without assistance, given the cost of towage and no desire by owners to spend much. “When you look at it (the Hector) you have to ask yourself how it is possible for this ship, an absolute rust bucket, to be allowed to sail from a port by West African authorities.” Martin says it is “physically impossible” for the South African government to monitor each and every vessel as they pass outside of territorial waters (12 miles) or the economic zone, a further 200 miles off. That means very little control over what comes past the coast. “I doubt very much whether Samsa will allow the Hector to sail from Cape Town without a port state inspection having addressed all safety requirements,” says Martin.