Filipino crew rescued from listing vessel near Cape Town

An 18-strong crew has been rescued after evacuating in a life raft from the general cargo vessel Ultra Galaxy, listing in the Atlantic Ocean near South Africa.

According to the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA), the rescue effort started very early on Monday after an emergency position indicating radio beacon alert from the vessel, located some 60 nautical miles west of Doring Bay, was detected at 3 am local time.

A distress call was immediately broadcast to other vessels in the vicinity. Three ships closest to the casualty vessel – the Fivos, the Rio Grande Express, and the fishing vessel Malachite diverted from their routes to assist. Weather conditions were characterised by strong winds of up to 12 knots per hour, with a swell of between five and six meters.

SAMSA stated that the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre in Cape Town dispatched two nearby cargo vessels to the location of the alert to investigate the situation and a life raft with the entire crew – all Filipino – was located. The crew came aboard the Malachite and was en route 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.

SAMSA added that its efforts have now been diverted to salvaging the vessel. The Authority organised several emergency towing vessels to assist the listing vessel.

“There is a huge risk of pollution because we don’t know what type of cargo she is carrying,” said SAMSA spokesperson Tebogo Ramatjie.