Ultrabulk vessel aground off South Africa

The Ultrabulk-managed general cargo ship Ultra Galaxy, which was abandoned by its crew of 18 seafarers on Monday after a heavy listing, has run aground with efforts to prevent a fuel and oil spill currently underway.

The South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) said on Wednesday that attempts are being made to salvage the vessel’s fertiliser cargo as well. The confirmation of the grounding off the coast of Brand se Baai on the West Coast, 385km north of Cape Town, occurred on Tuesday around 10 pm local time.

Preliminary indications are that the vessel has a full load of fertilizer in bags onboard as well as low-sulphur bunkering fuel and hydraulic and related oils.

Salvage operations are currently underway. On Monday, one tug was dispatched and arrived at the location on Tuesday. Another tug with more personnel and extra equipment departed from Cape Town on Tuesday evening to assist in the salvage efforts. Other measures are also being undertaken for the containment of any possible spills of the vessel’s cargo contents.

The vessel was located some 60 nautical miles west of Doring Bay when it sent its initial distress call at 3 am local time on Monday. Three ships closest to the casualty vessel – the Fivos, the Rio Grande Express, and the fishing vessel Malachite diverted from their routes to assist.

The entire 18-strong Filipino crew escaped from the listed vessel in a life raft and were rescued by the Malachite and taken to St Helena Bay.

The Panama-registered 13,800 dwt Ultra Galaxy is a 124 m long general cargo vessel built in 2008. According to available data from Equasis, it is owned by Fujita Shoji and managed by Denmark-based dry bulk operator Ultrabulk. At the time of its distress call it was en route to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.