Melanie Gosling
NEARLY two years ago a violent winter storm drove six marine diamond mining vessels aground at Port Nolloth.
Today, two of the vessels are still lying on the sand. Now the SA Maritime Safety Authority (Samsa) has gone to court to be allowed to cut up and remove one of them, the 171-ton Pafuri.
It has to wait to see if the owners accept the court authorisation, or whether they appeal. If they do not appeal, Samsa will begin operations to get the wrecked vessel cut up and removed. It ran aground with five other diamond boats in August 2009.
The Port Nolloth municipality is in negotiations with the owners of the smaller vessel, the Macle, about getting the wreck removed. The Macle has a big hole in the side and is full of bottles and litter from people who climb inside the hull.
The Pafuri, a diamond mining recovery vessel, now on the beach right in front of the town’s main hotel and shopping area, has become something of a tourist attraction. But it is also a hazard, with people climbing on board the vessel, particularly at night.
Debbie James of Samsa said yesterday it was hoped the Pafuri could be cut up within a few weeks.
“We’re concerned because it’s been there for almost two years. Boats are not designed to be on the sand,” James said.
“If the owners had taken action in the beginning, maybe they could have recovered it, but from our side, the hull is no longer what it should be. Trying to refloat her now, if she then sinks in the channel, would stop the Port Nolloth harbour from operating. It would bring the De Beers operation to a standstill, and the whole community using that harbour.”
The entrance to the Port Nolloth harbour is a narrow channel, marked by buoys with flashing lights and a bell that clangs eerily as the buoy rises in the swell.
“There were six vessels on the beach in that storm, but the others were much smaller and most of them were removed by their owners. The Pafuri is the only big vessel, at 171 gross tons. If the owners don’t move a vessel, there is a legal process we must follow to be allowed to do so ourselves, which is part of Samsa’s mandate. But the owners may appeal.”
George Nicolaai, a local diamond diver, described the storm of 2009 as “massive”.
“We have big storms in the winter months. That day, when a number of boats were grounded, the sea was massive. None of the moorings or anchors managed to secure them, the storm was too great, and they came ashore. The sea even washed through some of the houses. Now they’ve built a wall to give some protection.”