Umfolozi stolen from Walvis harbour

THE container ship Umfolozi, which made headlines in September last year when it sank in the Walvis Bay harbour, disappeared from the port on Saturday afternoon – allegedly spirited away by its new owner, Alexander Saleh.

The ship, which was being detained on the basis of a High Court order, has not been seen since then. Two security guards on board the vessel were apparently locked up for hours before they were thrown overboard.The Umfolozi was rechristened Michael S after it was refloated, repaired and sold to Saleh, a Greek ship owner.The ship was detained at the Walvis Bay harbour in June by Deputy Sheriff Attie Barnard after the South African Ports Authority won a High Court order against its new agents, Seagate Shipping, for the damage done to the South African dredger Ingwenya during the collision last year.On Saturday afternoon, the crew boarded the ship, lying just outside port borders, under the pretence of having to offload some equipment.It was reported in local media that Saleh boarded a plane at Hosea Kutako Airport outside Windhoek and left the country on Saturday.According to Acting Deputy Sheriff Andre Visser, the Namibian Defence Force and their Angolan counterparts are co-operating in the search for the stolen vessel.By yesterday afternoon no sighting had been reported.”This is now a criminal case,” said Visser, “which we are taking very seriously.The operation was clearly planned.We suspect that the vessel has already entered Angolan waters on Monday.The Angolan Army and Navy are on full alert and if they should spot the ship, they will force it to turn back to Namibia.The Namibian patrol boat Oryx is currently in that area and can take over from there.”Both NamPort’s managing director and official spokesperson were in meetings yesterday and could not be reached for comment.Two security guards on board the vessel were apparently locked up for hours before they were thrown overboard.The Umfolozi was rechristened Michael S after it was refloated, repaired and sold to Saleh, a Greek ship owner.The ship was detained at the Walvis Bay harbour in June by Deputy Sheriff Attie Barnard after the South African Ports Authority won a High Court order against its new agents, Seagate Shipping, for the damage done to the South African dredger Ingwenya during the collision last year.On Saturday afternoon, the crew boarded the ship, lying just outside port borders, under the pretence of having to offload some equipment.It was reported in local media that Saleh boarded a plane at Hosea Kutako Airport outside Windhoek and left the country on Saturday.According to Acting Deputy Sheriff Andre Visser, the Namibian Defence Force and their Angolan counterparts are co-operating in the search for the stolen vessel.By yesterday afternoon no sighting had been reported.”This is now a criminal case,” said Visser, “which we are taking very seriously.The operation was clearly planned.We suspect that the vessel has already entered Angolan waters on Monday.The Angolan Army and Navy are on full alert and if they should spot the ship, they will force it to turn back to Namibia.The Namibian patrol boat Oryx is currently in that area and can take over from there.”Both NamPort’s managing director and official spokesperson were in meetings yesterday and could not be reached for comment.