Report from SABC News 11^th October 2003:

A missing crew member on board the embattled Sea Elegance, a Singapore-owned vessel that caught fire earlier today off the Durban coast, is feared dead. Cornell Pretorius of the police's search and rescue unit said this afternoon that rescue teams had accounted for 24 crewmen, including the ship's captain, except for the missing crew member.

He also said the fire had been contained for now. "We believe that the missing crewman may have been close to engine room when the fire started this morning. He may have been caught in the fire. For now the fire has been contained. We understand from the crew that there was an explosion just before the stern was discovered burning," Pretorius said.

The stern was still in flames this afternoon and the multi-pronged rescue effort, which included the National Port Authority, the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI), the Metro Marine Safety and the Fire Department, was still underway despite wet conditions.

Pretorius said rescue efforts would not be abandoned and rescue teams at the scene said no environmental threats and no hazardous material were on board the ship. Earlier media reports said the ship had explosive material on board. This was denied by Pretorius. "We have no information that there are explosives on board despite some reports to the contrary," he said.

Media reports also initially said the missing man had jumped over board and that a helicopter hovering above the scene was trying to locate him. This was denied by Paul Bevis, operations manager for the NSRI and one of the first persons on board the burning vessel.

"Nobody jumped off board. The missing crewman may have been caught in the blaze. I stayed on board for three hours searching for him. Together with another rescuer we looked almost everywhere. We unfortunately could not find him. Some crewmen helped to douse the fire. Others, we brought to shore," Bevis said.

Authorities were presently trying to contact the family of the Singapore-born crew member. A representative for the vessel's local shipping agent, Foreshore, said the company did not want to comment and that it was busy liaising with the Ports Authority. Several of the ship's containers, valued at millions of rands, have already been burnt. The ship's bridge, which caught alight earlier on Saturday, is said to have prevented the crew from notifying authorities earlier about the fire.- Sapa

Report from SABC News 12^th October 2003:

A fire which started on board the Sea Elegance, a Singapore-owned vessel, off the Durban coast yesterday had been contained by today, the National Port Authority (NPA) said. A crew member who went missing during the fire, had not been found. It was believed that the crewman may have been caught in the blaze.

Yvonne de Kock, a spokesperson said today that the vessel cooled significantly overnight. Although the fire was still smouldering, there was no danger to the environment and the vessel was not in danger of sinking, she said.

"The fire is now minor but it is expected to continue smouldering for some time." De Kock said the NPA tugs were, however, still on standby. Paul Bevis, a spokesperson for the National Sea Rescue Institute, said that salvers Smith Marine SA were in the process of taking over the matter.

Several of the ship's containers, valued at millions of Rands were destroyed in the blaze. The ship's bridge, which caught alight, is said to have prevented the crew from notifying authorities earlier about the fire. - Sapa

From the DAILY SHIPPING NEWSLETTER 2003 – 188

Gareth Hughes of the Foreshore Ships Agency Durban said they had accounted for 23 of the 24 crew members who  went missing in a fire on board the Sea Elegance, a Singapore-owned vessel, off the Durban coast on Saturday. They were "still looking for" the missing man, he said. It was believed that the crewman may have been caught in the blaze.

"The cause of the fire is still under investigation. The fire had not caused any pollution or oil spills. "We are doing the best we can to get the fire out as soon as possible," said Hughes.

The fire had been contained by Sunday, the National Port Authority (NPA) said. Spokeswoman Yvonne de Kock said on Sunday that the vessel cooled significantly overnight. Although the fire was still smouldering, there was no danger to the environment and the vessel was not in danger of sinking, she said. "The fire is now minor but it is expected to continue smouldering for some time." De Kock said the NPA tugs were, however, still on standby. Paul Bevis, spokesman for the National Sea Rescue Institute, told Sapa on Sunday that salvers Smit Marine SA were in the process of taking over the matter.

Several of the ship's containers, valued at millions of Rands were destroyed in the blaze. The ship's bridge, which caught alight, is said to have prevented the crew from notifying authorities earlier about the fire.

From the Cape Times October 15, 2003:

Hazardous cargo may have sparked ship's blaze

By Melanie Gosling

The massive fire on board the container ship Sea Elegance, lying off Durban, was probably caused by an explosion in a 20-ton container of undeclared hazardous cargo that self-ignited, the SA Maritime Safety Authority (Samsa) said yesterday. Samsa spokesman Bill Dernier said it appeared that the crew of the Singapore-based container ship had been unaware they were carrying hazardous cargo.
He said the fire, which started on Saturday, was still smouldering, but under control.
"The fire started in a container in the lower part of the hold. We're convinced it was caused by an explosion of hazardous cargo that was not properly declared," Dernier said.
The container held tons of calcium hypochlorite, classed as category five in the International Maritime Organisation's dangerous goods code. Category one is the least hazardous and category 10 the most hazardous. In terms of international maritime law, hazardous cargo has to be declared, specially packed and correctly stowed to reduce risk to crew and the vessel.
"We're told that calcium hypochlorite is liable to decompose at elevated temperatures which may lead to fire or an explosion. This container was stored right next to the engine room bulkhead, which is a hotspot and where it should not have been.
"It was stored next to a herbicide, Atrazine. When the container exploded, it may have opened up the Atrazine container, which burns like nobody's business. There were also rolls of paper, tyres and plastic in number six hold," Dernier said.
He said when Samsa officials investigated the fire, they had read the ship's manifest, which showed no hazardous cargo.
The officials then called for the ship's packaging declaration, which showed that it was carrying a container of calcium hypochlorite. It appears that this had not been declared as hazardous cargo.
"As far as the ship's crew was concerned, they had loaded general cargo only."
Dernier said Samsa was conducting a preliminary investigation into the fire because a Sri Lankan crew member, MMK Senanayake, had gone missing in the blaze and was presumed dead. The other 23 crew have all been accounted for.
Gareth Hughes of Foreshore Shipping in Durban, agents for the vessel, said yesterday his company had been instructed by the ship's owners not to comment on the cause of the fire. He had also been instructed not to name the ship's owners.

Charred Elegance moves to Durban  - Fairplay 14.10.03

THE fire on the container ship Sea Elegance has been extinguished and fire fighters from South Africa's National Port Authority are currently focusing on dampening down one or two hot spots in preparation for the ship entering Durban port to discharge its cargo. Representatives of the vessel's owners have arrived in Durban from Singapore to negotiate with the port for suitable discharge and lay-by berths for this purpose and from where the ship can be fully assessed for possible repair, either locally or elsewhere.
The surviving crew of 23 have all returned to the ship leaving one seafarer missing presumed dead after an extensive search on the ship and in the surrounding sea. A spokesman for the ship's agent said this afternoon that the cause of the fire was still unknown and will be the subject of an investigation carried out by a forensic fire investigator retained by the ship's owner, Pacific International Lines.

New twist in Sea Elegance fire saga - Fairplay 15.10.03

A NEW twist has been added to the mystery of the fire on the container ship Sea Elegance outside Durban on Saturday, during which a Sri Lankan seafarer lost his life. South Africa's environmental affairs and tourism minister Mahommed Valli Moosa last night threatened "the strongest possible action from my department" for what he alleges was a non-declaration of hazardous chemicals carried on the ship. "This is completely unacceptable as this non-declaration could seriously impact on the safety of our people and of our marine environment," he said. According to his department, the ship was carrying a container of undeclared highly flammable calcium hypochlorite, which is usually found in diluted form in household bleach. Reports suggested that the explosion on the vessel was caused by the reaction of calcium hypochlorite and herbicide atrozine, which was carried in two containers nearby. A spokesman for the ship's agent in Durban maintained last night that the cause of the fire remained unknown and was the subject of an investigation by a forensic fire inspector retained by the vessel's owners. However, Fairplay was told that the minister was reacting to preliminary findings from the SA Maritime Safety Authority. Sources told Fairplay the container of calcium hypochlorite had been loaded when the vessel was in China.

Details & history generously supplied by Tony Atkinson