Seli 1 Grounded Ship

Published: 09/29/2009 by Wilma Rademan

The joint operating committee overseeing the salvage of the Seli 1, the ship that ran aground in Table Bay, says that its Turkish owner and its insurers have left SA taxpayers in the lurch. Effectively they have abandoned the vessel.

According to a Cape Times report, although most of the 660 tons of fuel has been pumped from the Seli 1, averting serious oil pollution, the funding crisis has delayed the removal of the 30 000 tons of coal on board.The joint operating committee overseeing the salvage confirmed that the owner, "TEB Maritime", their Russian P&I insurers, as well as the owners of the coal and their insurers had "effectively abandoned the vessel".