The wreck which brought Scarborough shores instant fame

I REMEMBER September 5, 2001 very clearly. “A ship’s ashore at Scarborough!” a breathless caller told me. The Singapore-operated bulker Ikan Tanda had broken down off the coast, and, driven by a gale-force wind and enormous swells, the disabled ship went ashore on the northern end of Scarborough Beach.

Laden with various fertiliser ingredients, she was en route from Chile to Cape Town when the horror began. From a helicopter, Cape Times photographer Andrew Ingram captured her grounding with huge waves crashing over the vessel; the only parts visible in the dramatic photographs were the top of her cranes, her funnel and main mast.

In the top corner of one of the photographs was another helicopter, dangling beneath which was a salvage team member about to be winched down to the ship’s bridge-wing. The crew – bar the master – were taken off.

Although the salvage tug John Ross hastened out into the huge seas, by the time she reached Scarborough, the bulker was ashore. After initial attempts to refloat her failed, salvors resorted to Plan B – patient preparations for refloating on the next Spring high tide.

Some local residents of the green persuasion became unreasonably impatient that the ship continued to dominate their lovely landscape.

Failing to understand that much was happening behind the scenes in preparation for the big pull, some vented their frustrations on the salvors who were busy with their meticulous planning. Underwriters had to be consulted about the possibility of jettisoning some cargo to lighten the bulker sufficiently to refloat her.

Oceanographic research revealed that a current would take jettisoned fertiliser ingredients past the beach and the point at the southern end of the beach. Marine biologists advised that jettisoned cargo would have little effect on sea life, and, at worst, a shortterm bloom in seaweed could occur. So some cargo went overboard and a launch managed to come alongside in the vessel’s lee to load one-ton bags of cargo for delivery in Hout Bay.

While the ship was ashore, Capetonians flooded Scarborough, although the authorities inexplicably closed the road on occasions. Neither the vessel nor her cargo posed any danger and, when important equipment had to be brought to the scene, a police escort got it through the jam-ups, mostly caused by the roadblocks!

Having discovered the delightful Scarborough, some wreck-gazers bought property, and an agent told me that the incident had escalated property prices.

Before the mid-October Spring tides, the salvage tug Wolraad Woltemade – John Ross had gone to aid another bulker – connected her towing gear for the big pull. The ship lurched, moved further across the reef, and took a worrying list to starboard.

That night, I made an error that I still regret. I stayed abed while, in the wee hours of October 17, those patient salvors made a desperate – and successful – effort to refloat the ship.

Indeed, she leapt from the beach at speed, causing the line to slacken suddenly. The intrepid tugmaster feared that the line had parted, but relief came when he suddenly realised what had happened and he had to manoeuvre his vessel smartly to prevent the freed bulker from colliding with his tug.

Floating on her tank-tops and with other latent damage, Ikan Tanda was a constructive total loss, unwanted by anyone. The tug towed her out to sea where the salvage crew scuttled her.

Some hatchcovers burst from the sinking vessel, and floated, posing a serious danger to ships. Engineers had to drill holes in them to ensure they sank, the last remnants of Ikan Tanda.