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out of date – what Samsa’s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.