TERRY HUTSON THE LOG ship Kiperousa, which has been aground off the Eastern Cape coast southwest of East London for the last 48 days (since June 7), was declared a total loss by insurers at the weekend (July 24). This was after it became obvious that efforts to pull the ship clear on the weekend spring high tides were not succeeding, despite more than half the cargo having been removed ashore by heavylift Mi26 helicopter. Specialists from SAMSA and the port of East London were on board the salvage tug Nicolay Chiker to assess the risks involved before taking the ship into East London harbour in the event of a successful refloating, but in the event the decision has been to leave the ship where she is, another victim of the South African coast. Terry Taylor of the NPA in East London said efforts would focus on removing the balance of the cargo and taking it to East London where a site in the port had been made available.
