Arrested ship makes a dash at dead of night

… but full force of law apprehends it
RAY SMUTS
IT’S not often arrested or detained ships try to make a dash for freedom from South African ports but the full force of the law will come down on transgressors, warns Captain Rufus Kekala, Cape Town’s harbour master. A recent such incident involved the large bulk carrier, Newmarket, which was detained and her cargo of 29 000 tons of cement arrested following a dispute about the cargo. Port control placed a radar marker on the ship to alert personnel of any unauthorised movement from her position at anchorage no: 4, which falls within port limits. Five days later, at 22:50, the Newmarket suddenly lifted anchor and started moving off, maintaining initial radio silence. The sheriff’s office was notified and the police water wing alerted, as was the ship’s agent. The master eventually made contact with port control, claiming a problematical engine was being tested, and was instructed to return forthwith to his anchorage where the vessel arrived 40 minutes later. According to Lekala, the cargo dispute was eventually resolved and the Panamanian-registered vessel allowed to sail for Mozambique.