Happy ending for distressed cargo ship

RAY SMUTS A POTENTIAL maritime disaster was averted at the weekend when a small cargo ship sent an emergency signal to Cape Town when her cargo moved in heavy seas and she started listing sharply off Cape Agulhas. The Jens Monk left the port of Cape Town on Thursday evening (July 22), bound for New Zealand, and the emergency message was received at 07:45 on Friday, whereupon the South African Maritime Safety Authority (Samsa) initiated preparations to address the situation. While the salvage tug Smit Amandla got underway to render assistance, the Jens Monk’s master decided to make for Simon’s Town but changed his mind due to heavy ocean swells and headed instead for Mossel Bay where her cargo was restowed over the weekend.