Shipwreck of the Bos 400, Maori Bay, South Africa

The BOS 400, a French Derrick Lay Barge that ran aground while being towed by the Russian tugboat Tigr. June 26, 1994.The Tigr was chartered to tow the BOS 400 from Pointe-Noire in the Republic of Congo to Cape Town, South Africa. The tow-rope broke loose during a storm and causing the vessel to run aground off Duiker Point near Sandy Bay. Despite several towage attempts, the shipwreck was considered a total loss as salvors were able to recover little from the wreck. The Tigr barge was built in 1987 in Polish shipyards and had remained idle in the Cape Town docks from 1994 to 2000, when it was sold for $625,000.
The Boss 400 was the biggest floating crane in Africa when the towing lines broke and hit the rocks in a storm.

Being a barge and having no main engines of its own it had to be towed to wherever it was working in the world. It had been used in the industry to pick up huge pipes. The tug that had the towing operation was underpowered and not up to the job. They found themselves unable to cope with the conditions and radioed through to Cape Town harbor to ask for assistance.

Although two tugs were dispatched they were unable to get any lines onto the boss 400 due to the extremely rough seas. It is said a while later the original line snapped and the Boss 400 found itself blowing onto the rocks in Maori Bay were she has been lying ever since. All 14 crew that had been aboard the Boss 400 were airlifted to safety.

At the time of the stranding, the Boss 400 was one of the most powerful crane barges in the world capable of lifting 1200 tons and valued at over 70 million US$. Due to the immense value of the vessel, a salvage team was dispatched but the back of the vessel was too badly broken and the salvage attempt had to abandoned.

coordinates : 34°02'13.25"S 18°18'30.13"E
google map

pictures sources :
lynette graham
cjmalcolm
mike golby
alex reppe

text source :
wikipedia
lynette graham

Related Articles