After 41 days, the MT Phoenix went to her final berth on Tuesday, more than 915m below and 51km from Durban harbour.
These pictures, released this morning, show the vessel’s final moments as it sank.
The operation to sink her was delayed because of bad weather, but Captain Saroor Ali, SA Maritime Safety Authority (Samsa) East Coast regional manager, said the final stage went smoothly.
“We sank her at 9.47am and everything went according to plan. The crew were safely evacuated just three minutes before the ship was pumped with water. No debris floated up – it was a clean sink,” he said. - Daily News Reporter