Raw Video: Coal Carrier Ship Runs Aground and Breaks Into Two in Richard Bay

A coal carrier ship ran aground and broke into two along the east coast of South Africa near Richards Bay. The 151,000 dwt bulk carrier MV Smart ran aground on a sandbar Monday in 10 meter swells after departing Port Richards Bay. The vessel had finished loading coal at the Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT) earlier Monday.

Photos of the grounded ship show the hull has suffered structural failure at around amidships and is severely sagging. The National Sea Rescue Institute was alerted of the grounding at about 1:30 p.m. local time. At approximately 4 p.m., the structural integrity of the ship was compromised and the captain gave the order to abandon ship, NSRI said in a statement.

All 23 crew members have been rescued by NSRI helicopter crews.

A video uploaded on youtube shows the vessel starting to break into half. Three TNPA tugs tried to assist the vessel but to no avail. The vessel buckled and broke in two and is now partly submerged.

Watch the Video Below:

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Raunek Kantharia is a marine engineer turned maritime writer and entrepreneur. After a brief stint at the sea, he founded Marine Insight in 2010. Apart from managing Marine Insight, he also writes for a number of maritime magazines and websites.