Close call for ship in Three Sisters drama

THE popular Shipwreck hiking trail came close to offering hikers a modern-day wreck after a 42m oil and exploration vessel with six crew got into trouble in darkness, wind and a 3m swell off Rietpunt and Three Sisters near Port Alfred on Monday.

Shipwreck trail manager and former East London harbour port control assistant officer Dave Marais said as many as 80 ships have been wrecked along the stretch from Kenton-on-Sea to Great Fish point over the last 200 years.

Rambler, a guard and service vessel for oil rigs, broke down on a run from Madagascar to Cape Town on Monday and was “adrift at sea, dragging her anchor and threatening to run aground within hours”, said NSRI Port Alfred station commander Juan Pretorius.

However, NSRI national spokesman Craig Lambinon downplayed the drama, saying their presence at the scene was “precautionary”.

Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) called the NSRI station at 4.32pm on Monday asking them to get to the scene ahead of their tug, Shiraz, dispatched from Port Elizabeth, said Pretorius.

NSRI Port Alfred’s 8.2m Lotto Challenger was launched and found Rambler 9km east of Port Alfred and 2.8km offshore.

They calculated the ship would run aground within two hours. Shiraz arrived at 2am. Pretorius said the six crew aboard Rambler managed to get the engine running and the vessel motored to safety.

Shiraz, however, towed Rambler to Port Elizabeth, arriving at 7pm on Tuesday. —