Cargo vessel Meratus Jayawijaya back on anchorage after mooring line snaps |06 March 2020

Cargo vessel Meratus Jayawijaya has been brought back to Port Victoria after drifting towards Ile de Romainville yesterday afternoon, causing a tug boat to run aground during the operation to get it back to port.

In a communiqué, the Seychelles Ports Authority (SPA) wrote that its preliminary report indicates that at around 12.45pm a sustained gust of wind caused the mooring lines of the cargo vessel Meratus Jayawijaya to snap during unloading operation on the northern side of the Mahé quay.

“The vessel immediately started to drift slowly southwards towards Ile De Romainville. The SPA immediately mobilised two tugs to assist the vessel as well as one harbour pilot on board the vessel to provide additional support in maneuvering within the harbour.

“Despite our best efforts, the strong winds persisted and pushed the vessel in close proximity to Ile De Romainville where it lodged sideways and one of SPA tugs providing help also ran aground close to Romainville.

“The SPA requested additional support from its stakeholders to mitigate the current situation and all agencies were alerted as per the current protocol.

“A command centre was activated to coordinate the operation and the vessel was retrieved from its current location within one hour. At this juncture, the SPA would like to thank SMSA for its immediate response and participation in the operation.

“Taking into account the prevailing weather condition, the vessel has been relocated on anchorage until further notice.

“The operation for the retrieval of the tug was being planned for later this evening (last night) when the tide would be more favourable for this type of operation.

“As a precautionary measure, the Port Authority is mobilising all its operational resources to remain on standby in case of any further eventualities that may arise as a result of the persisting weather conditions,” adds the communique.

Communique from the Seychelles Ports Authority