Salvage Operation Underway for MV Ultra Galaxy Ship in South Africa

The salvage team on the Panamanian-flagged cargo ship, the MV Ultra Galaxy, is currently awaiting a one-week “window of good weather” to commence the recovery of the vessel’s remaining fuel and oil. The ship, which was abandoned on July 9 after encountering issues while traveling from Spain to Tanzania, ultimately ran aground on the west coast of South Africa and broke into four pieces. Fortunately, all 18 crew members were safely rescued as the ship listed heavily.

As investigations into the circumstances surrounding the ship’s stranding continue, it has been confirmed that Panamanian maritime authorities are working alongside the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) to determine the cause of the incident. SAMSA’s Chief Operations Officer stated that the Panamanian authorities have arrived in South Africa to question the crew and aid in the investigation.

Meanwhile, the salvage operation led by Smit Salvage South Africa is facing challenges due to adverse weather conditions. The team is currently focused on stabilizing the vessel, locating the fuel tanks, and carefully transferring the fuel and oil to a platform supply vessel. Despite managing to extract some oil, the process has been hampered by the weather, and additional efforts are underway to clean up the spilled fuel and debris with the assistance of a local environmental cleanup team.

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