Extreme bravery of two divers
NEAR the Passenger Terminal is Atlatech, a 40-year-old marine engineering and diving company whose history includes its vital involvement in one of South Africa’s maritime salvage epics, characterised by extreme bravery and good oldfashioned seamanship.
In the early hours of August 6, 1983, the large, fully laden tanker Castillo de Bellver was near Dassen Island. As she rolled amid the heavy Cape winter seas, her platting cracked, releasing inert gas in the ullage space atop the cargo, and, with steel-on-steel, a spark soon caused a massive fire.
“The tanker,” goes the storyline, “broke her back with a loud rumble and whoomph as thousands of tons of oil suddenly ignited.” The stern section sank in deep water, while the forward section turned skywards, the vessel’s huge bow pointing upwards.
The salvage plan was to tow the bow section far from the coast and to sink it in a sub-sea canyon, but a towing line needed to be attached to the vessel’s anchor, about 40 metres above the sea. A helicopter lowered divers Jim Cooke and Coen de Beer onto the anchor (which was covered in oil and therefore very slippery) and then picked up a length of wire from the tug John Ross (now SA Amandla) and brought it to the divers, who managed to secure it around the anchor. To this the intrepid men shackled the main towing line, after which they were lifted off by the helicopter, which by that time, was running low on fuel.
The tug slowly began the tow seawards. The divers’ careful work paid off, and, once the tug and tow arrived at the selected position, they – and at great personal risk – fitted explosives to the upturned hull. After several misfires of the explosives occurred, necessitating that they return to the upturned hull – at even greater risk – to fit new explosives, the bow section finally sank.
The men’s extreme bravery earned them the Woltemade Award (Silver). Given the precarious nature of their work and that while they were working under severe pressure on the anchor, either could have fallen to his death, I wonder what more they should have done to have earned the gold award!
This epic operation and dozens of others that required specialised experience and knowledge are contained in a fascinating book on Atlatech’s 40-year history – penned by Tony Westby-Nunn – that also includes vital lessons for wannabe entrepreneurs. Cooke and De Beer began their operation with an old Volkswagen Kombi and an air compressor mounted on a rickety trailer that they drove around the harbour, hawking their services to undertake hull cleaning and other work, a time-consuming quest that initially bore little fruit. Through hard work, long hours and perseverance, however, they built up a sustainable business.
As their reputation grew, they secured long-term contracts and also undertook several salvage operations that included two trips to Tristan da Cunha Island. The first visit was early in 2007 to assist with the refloating and scuttling of the oil platform A Turtle that had grounded on the island after breaking the tow from a tug months before while under tow from Brazil. Four years later, the Atlatech team returned to the island to minimise oil pollution following the wreck of the bulker Oliva.
Like any successful operation, Atlatech’s history has hinged on industrious people of integrity. Although he will be the first to point to the Atlatech team as the secret of the company’s success, the amiable Cooke embodies the spirit of the company, whose work has been vital to the local and wider maritime scene. And this book records it for posterity.
This Sunday (October 28) I will be chatting about Union-Castle and its magnificent mailships at Mossop Hall Methodist Church, Roseberry Road, Mowbray, at 4.30pm for 5pm. Everyone is welcome and entrance is free.