The fiery incident involved the now abandoned 62-year-old MVF Armana while she was located approximately 60 Nautical Miles offshore from Gansbaai.
An 18-member crew had to be rescued from a life raft after their cargo ship was stricken by strong winds and 3.5 meters swells about 60 nautical miles west of Doringbaai.
It’s been about a month and a half since the Eihatsu Maru ran aground in Clifton. Amongst all the questions and mysteries surrounding the entire incident, one of the most prominent was: “Who’s going to be paying for all this?” The unexpected answer is that the ship’s owner has actually made an offer to the salvagers – who would have thought it?
It’s taken long enough for Japanese officials to step up to the plate and offer South African Authorities their assurances that they will do everything they can to locate the stricken vessel’s owner. After a slight mishap overnight, Samsa confirmed to 2oceansVibe a little while ago that salvage experts were putting the finishing touches together for an operation at lunchtime today.
South Africa is going to foot the bill for salvaging the Japanese fishing vessel currently stranded on Clifton First beach, according to the SA Maritime Safety Authority (Samsa). The owner of the ship, which ran aground on Saturday and has since moved 25m closer to the shore, has to date refused to cover the costs of the salvage.