I'm a retired member of one of the unions

[pnorman]

which has a collective bargaining contract with the shipping company that owns the Sealand Express. That company, which had "contributed" their CEO to the government as Secretary of Treasury (John W. Snow), is also now part of The Carlyle Group. I first got word of the ship's grounding last month, right here on DU. I immediately copied it onto my union's BBS, thereby scooping everyone else. Below is the latest news; as copied from that BBS.

---------------------------------------------------------------------
CAPE TOWN
Stranded Sealand Express free at last
Posted Sat, 13 Sep 2003

The Sealand Express, which ran aground in Table Bay during a storm last month, is free at last.

Two salvage tugs pulled her off a sandy bottom shortly after 3pm on Saturday afternoon, to the joy of watchers on shore.

"We jumped up and down," said Clare Gomes, spokesperson for salvors Smit Marine.

"We're thrilled it’s the first time I've shed a tear for a ship."

Several previous bids to refloat the 33 000 tons vessel had failed, and authorities had at one stage considered building a cause-way through the surf to take off her cargo of containers.

The American registered Sealand Express, a container vessel, grounded off Sunset Beach in Table Bay on August 19 after dragging her anchor in a storm.

Gomes said on Saturday the dredger HAM 316 worked throughout Saturday to clear a channel for the ship after she moved some 250 metres on a high tide at 4am.

As the afternoon high tide approached two tugs, the Pacific Worker and the Pacific Brigand, were connected to her waiting for a third, the John Ross, to secure a tow.

The pair applied 40 percent power and the ship moved.

"At 3.20pm we waved her goodbye and off she went," Gomes said.

The tugs would take the Sealand Express one nautical mile west of Robben Island where she would be fully inspected.

There she would be ballasted again to keep her steady and the two lines reconfigured preparatory to entering Cape Town harbour, probably in the next 24 hours.

Western Cape environment MEC Johan Gelderblom congratulated everyone involved in ferrying the vessel.

"What could have been a difficult situation has been averted, and my personal thanks to the team from the province, the municipality, and harbour authority who took advantage of the wind and the swell today (Saturday) to get the vessel free," he said.

Sapa
(Sorry,no link)

[blm]

1. That's interesting.

And kinda amazing that the info connected to here.

Thanks for sharing the update.

[liberalnurse]

2. Good work......

It is amazing how effective one can be if they just paid attention...

You just plant some seeds and look what grows.

Great!

[papau]

3. great job!

:-)