Grounded bulker faces further setbacks

RAY SMUTS SETBACKS seem to be the order of the day as the bulk carrier Kiperousa still lies hard aground off Bhenga, near Hamburg, in the Eastern Cape. Aside from fruitless attempts by two powerful tugs to pull the 14 921-ton, log-laden, ship free, the month-old salvage operation was hit by problems when the Greek salvage company was initially unable to guarantee the necessary funding to clean up any oil spillage that might occur. Such guarantees were eventually furnished. While attempting to pull the vessel from her rocky bed, the tug Smit Amandla badly damaged her towing bollards, necessitating a return to the port of East London for repairs. The other tug, Nikolay Chiker, had to return to East London for repairs by divers as the dry dock was full. Another snag was the delay at Port Elizabeth due to technical problems of a twin-engine helicopter on its way to East London to assist in the salvage operation. All 30 tons of fuel oil have been safely transferred to the Durban-based supply vessel Toto and attention is now focused on moving the 1 900 giant West African logs - each weighing between five and ten tonnes – onto the Toto to lighten the Kiperousa sufficiently to pull it clear. The vessel was on her way from Gabon to Durban to take on bunkers when the master put out a distress call on June 7, resulting in the evacuation of the crew to East London.