A mysterious ship is being held at the Port of Ngqura after it was detained with dangerous goods and multiple “severe deficiencies”.
The crew, including the skipper, are still aboard the bulk carrier Sea Lord, which was detained in the Algoa Bay industrial port in November.
According to the South African Maritime Safety Authority (Samsa), Sea Lord was seized following a routine inspection.
Samsa spokesperson Tebogo Ramatjie said the vessel, which is flagged under the Comoros, was crewed by 16 seafarers, comprising three from Myanmar and 13 from India.
“Samsa is actively monitoring the situation involving the seafarers, who are still aboard the Sea Lord in Ngqura,” he said.
“The inspection of the vessel identified 42 deficiencies, including the non-payment of crew wages.
“Samsa conducted the port state control inspection upon the vessel’s arrival, leading to its detention on November 14 due to the severity and number of deficiencies noted.”
Ramatjie said in line with international maritime standards, the authority had promptly notified the International Transport Workers Federation regarding the wage issues, and efforts to secure payment from the vessel’s owners were under way.
“Further inspections on January 8 revealed additional humanitarian concerns, including shortages of fresh water, food supplies and electricity, as well as accumulating garbage on deck,” he said.
“The vessel is also subject to two ongoing court cases related to its arrest.”
According to the Ship Tracking website, Sea Lord was built in 2002 and is 80m long and 13.6m wide, and has a draught of 3.9m.
It departed from the Mozambican capital of Maputo on October 21.
Ramatjie confirmed that the vessel’s last port of call was Maputo and that it was was headed to Turkey.
This passage would have taken the ship north up the African coast and it is not clear why it sailed south into SA waters instead.
Asked about the court cases, Ramatjie said the authority did not want to comment on that matter.
He said the vessel’s cargo had been offloaded. Pressed as to what it was, he said only that it was “dangerous goods”.
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