It’s all over for stricken Agulhas

APM Maersk to shoulder considerable portion of cargo bill RAY SMUTS AS THE stricken containership, Safmarine Agulhas, continued to be pounded by relentless ocean forces after more than a month aground off the port of East London, salvors SMIT Salvage announced at week’s end it was all over. There will be no further attempts to refloat the 1 680TEU vessel and the removal of 100 containers in two flooded holds has been halted indefinitely due to hazardous conditions. What is more, the National Ports Authority and South African Maritime Safety Authority (Samsa) have stipulated the wreck must be removed in its entirety and conveyed to the owners and insurers. SMIT’S marketing and communications manager, Clare Gomes, told FTW: “The fuel removal should be completed within 48 hours, at which time our contract will end. We will remain caretakers of the wreck until an environmentally-friendly tender has been awarded. August 8 is the deadline for submissions.” It has emerged, via Lloyds List, that Danish group AP Moller-Maersk – owners of both Safmarine and Maersk Line – have volunteered to shoulder a considerable bill on behalf of its cargo portion. Maersk confirmed it would absorb the general average and salvage claims related to the Safmarine and Maersk bills of lading while other involved shippers are likely to post security in the normal way after casualties of this kind. Several options have been suggested for removing the ship. These include blowing her up, as was the case with the Jolly Rubino off the East Cape, but dismissed as far too dangerous considering her close proximity to the port’s western breakwater, or stripping her of valuables and then dismantling along the lines of ‘cut-up’ breaker yards in the Middle East. The ten-year-old ship, on charter to Maersk from German owners FA Vinnen and carrying 469 containers (21 refrigerated), was deployed within the recently reorganised Southern African Europe Container Service and on her way to Durban on the night of June 26 when tragedy struck. Over and above Safmarine and Maersk Line, other SAECS partners, Deutsche Afrika-Linien (DAL) and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) also had cargo on board, commodities varying from tools, tyres and automotive parts to frozen fish and foodstuffs.