N$20m to salvage stranded ship

OTIS FINCK

In the region of N$20 million has been spent so far on trying to salvage the stranded Japanese vessel Fukuseni Maru, which ran aground north of Henties Bay.

Paul van der Merwe, the owner of Walvis Bay Diving, one of the subcontractors involved with the salvage, confirmed the figure spent in the past two weeks.

Approximately 20 people - crew members of the two vessels Amandla and Sea Raker, a diving team of four, a pump operating team consisting of six, and four engineers from Nippon Salvage - are involved.

“It is an extremely difficult and tedious process due to the rough condition of the sea. All the equipment needs to be moved to the stranded vessel and has to be delivered by helicopter since it’s difficult to reach the vessel by boat,” said Van der Merwe.

“The Sea Raker (a 20-metre steel catamaran) is a perfect working platform and is pumping fuel via a pipeline from the stranded vessel to lighten the load and prevent any pollution.”

Van der Merwe said the vessel was carrying approximately 100 tons of fuel when it ran aground and added that the freezers stopped functioning, causing 70 tons of tuna to start defrosting.

“Some of the fuel leaked into the ocean because when the vessel was grounded the bottom fuel tanks were breached and as a result, marine gas oil (MGO) leaked into the sea. There is, however, no risk of pollution. The risk to the marine and coastal environment is low since it is not heavy fuel oil (HFO). MGO is a light concentrate, non-persistent fuel which will evaporate especially in the sea zone where the vessel is lying and before it reaches the shore.”

The salvaging crew also pumped 25 tons of fuel from the vessel on Wednesday and another 10 tons on Thursday.

According to Van der Merwe it is difficult to establish whether the ongoing salvaging effort would be executed successful.

“Two of the double-bottom fuel tanks are compromised but this does not mean the vessel will sink. It actually floats on the tanks located at the top layer. We have to lessen the on-board load in order to pull it from the rock it is wedged on.

“If we do not manage to remove it over the weekend the owners will most like halt the salvage operation which will then become a wreck removal.”

Once it becomes a wreck removal, options involve pulling the vessel from the rock, towing it and scrapping it in Walvis Bay.

It could also be partially cut up but due to its position no one can reach it.

The last option is to leave the vessel as is and to ensure that there is no chance that any pollution will occur.

The spokesperson for the works and transport ministry, Julius Ngweda, confirmed that efforts to salvage the MFV Fukuseki Maru, which ran aground on 22 March near Durissa Bay, south of the mouth of the Ugab River, some 200km from Walvis Bay, were ongoing.

“Unfortunately, salvage efforts have not been successful to date, mainly due to the rocky area on the seabed, the extreme state of the ocean along with weather conditions. The engine room and other compartments, including the cargo hold, are also flooded and pumps have been installed to control the flooding.”

If salvage efforts fail, the owners and their underwriters could declare a constructive total loss as this would mean that the cost of salving the vessel would exceed her value.

If this happens, the operation would transition from salvage to wreck removal.

“The leakage has since been contained. Due to the distance between the troubled vessel and the beach, fishing spots and recreational beaches adjacent to the vessel have not been affected by the incident. In fact, accommodation facilities and other local suppliers of goods and services are benefiting from the ongoing recovery operations,” Ngweda said.