Now the costs need to be tallied Ray Smuts PATIENCE IS a virtue particularly in the salvage business, and it paid off on Saturday afternoon when the US container ship Sea-Land Express, for 19 days a beached prisoner off Cape Town, at last came free from her sandy crevasse. It was a tribute to salvors Smit Marine who worked tirelessly day and night to refloat the 32 629 gross ton vessel, a chartered Dutch dredger playing a starring role in removing sand around the vessel’s hull to prepare a passage to sea. During an attempt at refloating the Sea-Land Express on Saturday morning a tow cable snapped on the John Ross. She was therefore not part of the successful heave-ho as the tugs Pacific Brigand and Pacific Worker - combined brake horse power 22 000 - exercised 240 tons of bollard pull and came out winning. Everyone is pleased as punch, not least Captain Bill Dernier of the South African Maritime Safety Authority, who observed there had been no pollution, no damage and no losses. Cape Town harbour master Edward Bremner said he had been optimistic all along that the vessel would come off. After being freed at 15:24. on Saturday the Sea-Land was towed to a point west of Robben Island to be inspected by divers. At sunrise on Sunday she could be seen approaching the Port of Cape Town, towed by the powerful salvage tug John Ross. A small crowd of well-wishers gathered on the jetty at around 08:00 expressing whoops of delight, a sentiment returned by crew and salvors on board. The vessel berthed at around 09.30 and off-loading of the 1 025 remaining containers started at 18.30 a process due to be completed on Tuesday (September 16) after which she was due to relocate to a repair jetty to await her turn in Sturrock Dry Dock. (She has some rudder damage). The first priority after the removal of oil and some of the hazardous cargo was obviously the cargo and the vessel is being worked by one crane. FTW understands some boxes on the portside subjected to intermittent pounding waves, are damaged and will be inspected by cargo surveyors. As is known, the Sea-Land Express’s owners, US Ship Management Inc, have declared General Average but Cape cargo owners still await notification of procedures. Herbie Herbst of Project Freight confirmed at week’s end that the company had about six TEU on board the Sea-Land Express, one containing white fish from the US. Said Herbst about the implications of General Average: “They (the owners) would normally call for a precentage based on the value of the individual cargo.” It is likely to be a while before the actual cost of the mammoth salvage operation is known, if at all, but it will be expensive. The all-inclusive daily operational cost of such a vessel is estimated to be of the order of US$15 000 a day so 19 days out of commission could translate to something like US$285 000 - almost R2 million alone.
