‘Kolmanskop’ won’t take it lying down

After less than a month since the wreck of the Kolmanskop south of Swakopmund was dismantled to the low-tide mark, a large part of the vessel has partially broken off and has tilted to a position that now exposes part of the wreck even above the high-water mark.

‘We expected that the shell of the wreckage would start falling apart soon, but really not like this – where it is now rearing its head again after we tried to level it,’ Paul van der Merwe of Walvis Bay Diving, told The Namibian.His company was responsible for dismantling the wreck.He said that the piece was not totally broken off, but still ‘hinged’ to a strong shaft. ‘It’s not a train smash. We evaluated the matter and decided to give it a while, about three months, before we try and do something. By then the ocean may have sorted it out. ‘If we try and do something now, it would be like trying to cut someone’s hair in the wind; we’ll just not be able to get it even,’ he explained.The Kolmanskop ran ashore in 2006 after it broke from its moorings in Walvis Bay during strong winds. It drifted to its current site and became wedged between the rocks about 200m from the shore. It was not possible to re-float it seawards because the hull was damaged, and the area too shallow and rocky. The owner of the vessel, Glomar Fisheries of Walvis Bay, was instructed by the Department of Maritime Affairs (DMA) to have the wreck removed.