The Sea-Land Express pictured on August 19 off Sunset Beach . . . questions have been raised over whether the master made an error of judgement. Ray Smuts THE US Coast Guard is finalising its probe into the grounding of the container ship Sea-Land Express and has undertaken to make available within the next few weeks its report to the South African Maritime Safety Authority. South Africa and the United States have worked closely since the stormy August 19 mishap off Sunset Beach near Cape Town. SAMSA provided the two Coast Guard investigators with access to the port control personnel on duty at the time, radar scans and other information, but regrettably no recorded evidence between shore and ship due to the NPA equipment being out of order at the time. SAMSA has in turn been furnished with interviews with the master and officers of the 32 629, US-owned, Maersk Sealand chartered, vessel. But the Authority’s Captain Bill Dernier, who has been closely involved with the entire salvage operation, is loathe to speculate for now on “third-hand” information. “Wait for the report,” he says. “Certainly, if we are not happy with it we will say so.” He does however make an observation: “It was perhaps an error of judgement the master made by failing to take cognisance of the facts, that maybe he should have got out of bed and gone and had a look. Maybe he just relied too much on his officers.” Dernier admits to being “narked” at calls for the ship’s master to be arrested - he remained in his cabin despite two verbal communications from officers of the watch including the chief officer. “Arrest him for what? What damage did he do, who did he kill, where did he spill oil, where did he drop uranium cargo on somebody’s doorstep? “We are not a Third World, Mickey Mouse, country; we are not like the Spaniards who told the master of the Prestige to shove off without offering assistance and when she sank locked him up. Is that the road we must go up?” Dernier says South Africa’s maritime law does not make provision for suspending or cancelling an American master’s certification customarily issued by the US Coast Guard, hence its involvement in the investigation. As to possible action in the event of a guilty finding, the US Coast Guard could come up with several alternatives. These include cancelling the master’s ticket or demoting him to mate (chief officer), suspending, fining or reprimanding him. Built in 1980 and estimated to be worth around US$8 million the Sea-land Express, considerably lengthened in more recent years, was in excellent shape at the time of the disaster, having undergone two State Control inspections in the past year and given a clean bill of health on each occasion.
