Ultra Galaxy wreck removal is the next target

With the removal of all remaining oil and fuel onboard the grounded and now wrecked Panama-flagged general cargo vessel, the MV Ultra Galaxy, no longer feasible; the salvage effort has smoothly moved onto removal of the wreck off South Africa’s west coast beach, as soon as possible, according to the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) in a statement on Friday.

SAMSA confirmed that a tender invitation to industry had recently been issued, with keen services suppliers’ interest having already been noted from both locally and abroad. This, according to SAMSA, is consistent with and a follow-through to the authority’s directive to the vessel owners to have the wreck removed from the South African west coast on the Atlantic Ocean.

Tender

“As a result,” said SAMSA, “the P&I Club invited to tender to the industry in the last week, with interest from both local and international companies.”

On the current condition of the beached vessel now overturned, broken into two distinct pieces, with breached oil and fuel tanks, as well as requisite activity related thereto, SAMSA said: “Following extensive assessments conducted over the past few days, it has been confirmed that the MV Ultra Galaxy has completely broken up due to the severe weather conditions.”

This was in confirmation that due to incessant wintry and windy weather conditions over several weeks since the grounding of the vessel in early July 2024, all oil and fuel that had remained onboard the vessel had unavoidably been lost as spilt out to sea and spread out to a nearby beach where it is currently being collected.

According to SAMSA, at the time of the vessel’s grounding in early July, she had a full load of fertiliser in bags onboard. “Due to the extreme weather conditions at the time and the angle she was at the ship’s hatch covers were dislodged and detached from the vessel.

“Without hatch covers the cargo holds were left vulnerable and consequently, the ship’s entire load of fertiliser cargo was swept away by the sea. As the fertiliser dissolves water, water sample testing was done, and to date, zero reports of a negative impact on the environment have been received.

An aerial view of the grounded MV Ultra Galaxy after it split further / Credit: SAMSA 

VLFSO and MGO

SAMSA further explained that in terms of the types of fuel the casualty vessel had onboard at the time of the grounding incident, in addition to low amounts of hydraulic and related oils she had 332 tons of VLSFO (low sulphur) and 180 tons of MGO in her tanks as bunker fuel.

“Before she started breaking up salvors were able to remove 8 tonnes of bunkering marine gas oil from the wreck while the rest of the oil unfortunately spilled after they were compromised due to extremely bad weather and landed up on the beaches directly in front of the vessel,” said SAMSA.

On Friday SAMSA said: “Given the extent of the damage, the likelihood of any intact fuel tanks remaining on the vessel is highly unlikely. Consequently, the initial plan to pump the remaining oil from the wreck with the assistance of the Platform Supply Vessel (PSV) is no longer feasible.

“With all the fuel presumed to have been released and collected on the nearby mining beach, the focus of the operation has now shifted to a monitoring and caretaking phase.

“Inspections conducted by foot, drone, and helicopter on Wednesday indicate that the oil on the mining beaches has been cleaned and that there is no visible oil slick or contamination along the beaches, extending as far down as the Olifants River mouth and 5km north of the wreck.

Two storm cycles

“Cleanup crews remain on high alert and are on-site in full force, with any resurgence of oil only being sighted on the beaches immediately in front of the vessel. Despite the successful cleanup of all oil that was deposited onto the beach on Monday, the cleanup teams will remain on-site for at least the next two storm cycles as a precautionary measure,’ said SAMSA.

With the casualty vessel’s conditions having now changed significantly, SAMSA said the salvage team would be downscaling their efforts on-site while maintaining daily reports on the condition of the wreck.

“These reports will include drone footage, monitoring of the wreck’s movement, and early warnings for any small pockets of oil that may still be trapped in the hull. This approach ensures that we remain vigilant in mitigating any further environmental impact.

“SAMSA remains committed to working closely with all relevant authorities and stakeholders to manage the ongoing situation effectively. We will continue to provide regular updates to keep the public informed of the progress and any new developments. We would like to thank all the teams, including the community involved for their tireless efforts and continued support and vigilance during this challenging time.”