Elements conspire in bulker salvage efforts

RAY SMUTS THE CAPE elements were once again an unwilling player as a weekend attempt to begin pumping fuel oil from the holed 150 000 ton bulk carrier Cape Africa 160 miles west of Cape Town had to be abandoned. Smit Marine, appointed official salvors by Taiwanese shipowner U-Ming Marine Transportation Corporation, announced on Sunday that heavy ocean swells had complicated the start of the operation. On top of this the Russian tug Nikolay Chiker - one of the most powerful in service - had to return to the port of Cape Town after a rope became caught up in her port propeller. The master of the 13-year old vessel, carrying a cargo of iron ore from Brazil to Japan, reported on April 26 that a hole - now estimated to be about 20 metres long by five metres high - had been discovered in the number three hold. This is large enough to drive a fleet of buses through seven abreast. The priority is to remove her 1900 tons of oil - a prerequisite by the SA Maritime Safety Authority - after which hull repairs will be effected.