A foreign rescue firm from the Netherlands has joined an operation to salvage a Tuvalu-flagged ship, which ran aground off the Kilifi coast in the Indian Ocean last Tuesday.
The ship, MT Theresa Arctic, carrying 27,500 tons of vegetable oil, has at least 15 crew members on board.
It was heading for the Mombasa port from Port Keelang when it ran aground.
Kenya Ports Authority head of corporate affairs Bernard Osero on Sunday allayed fears of an oil spill saying they have the best people in the salvage industry working to salvage the ship.
Speaking to the Star on phone, Osero said they are targeting June 28 as the probable date to complete the mission.
Andrew Mwangura, the Mombasa Port CSOs Platform chairman, said with every minute that passes without the ship being rescued, there is an increased risk of oil spillage into the sea.
“Urgent measures need to be taken to avoid a major maritime disaster such as loss of life, cargo damage, environmental damage and heavy damage to marine life.
“But I trust authorities have the capacity to salvage the ship,” Mwangura told the Star on Sunday.
He said there are several other cases in the past that have led to scares and actual spillage of oil due to slow rescue operations.
An oil spill could lead to an environmental disaster, he said.
Osero however said they are cautious but confident of preventing any oil spill.
“The salvage mission is progressing well. KPA has partnered with Smith Salvage from Holland and the local Alpha Logistics to execute the mission,” said Osero on Sunday.
Experts from Smith Salvage are already on board the ship.
He noted that the rescue operation has been hampered by the weight of the ship.
Another cargo ship from Beira, Mozambique is currently sailing to the site to help offload some of the cargo.
“We are doing lightering of the ship at the moment so that it can be lighter. There is no cause to worry,” said Osero.
Tuvalu, in the South Pacific, is an independent island nation within the British Commonwealth.
MT Theresa Arctic was expected to dock at berth number nine on June 20 at around 11pm.
Rescue operations have been underway since then but seafarers and marine experts say the operations have taken too long.
Kenya Maritime Authority and Kenya Ports Authority sources say low tides have also hampered the rescue operations.
Four tugboats, including Mt Duma 2, Mt Simba 3, Mt Kiboko 2 and Mt Nyangumi 2, have been deployed in the rescue operation.
One tugbwas deployed hours after the ship ran aground near a reef off the Kilifi coast to hold it in position and prevent it from being pushed by strong winds.
In April 2015, a Singapore-flagged dry bulk carrier, JS Danube, ran aground after hitting a rock some two nautical miles off the Mombasa port.
“Despite the fact that the grounding happened close to the port, KPA started the rescue operations seven hours after the accident,” said Mwangura.
In April 2005, an oil spill from Indian oil tanker MT Ratna Shalini, which spread to shoreline, caused environmental and property damage.
The ship had 80,000 tons of crude oil. She was damaged as she berthed at the Mombasa port’s oil terminal on April 7, 2005.
One of her tanks loaded with 3,000 tons of crude oil was punctured on the starboard side of the vessel and about 200 tons of oil spilled into the sea.