In September 2009 a ship broke anchor and was blown toward the shore off one of the most popular kiteboarding spots in Cape Town - Kitebeach. It lodged on a sandbank about 150 - 200 metres off the shore. It's name - Seli 1. The Turkish owners and Russian insurers were in dispute and so time passed with the ship becoming more firmly lodged. It contained a cargo of 30 000 tonnes of coal and 660 tonnes of crude oil.
When it became clear that the owners were not going to do anything about it, it's cargo of coal was auctioned off and was slowly unloaded. The oil was pumped out of it's tanks. Without the cargo it was hoped it might be able to be removed, but this did not transpire. It succumbed to its fate which was to be broken up gradually over the course of a few years by the relentless pounding of the Atlantic swells and the huge winter storms.
Below follows the bulk of the pictorial story of the fate of this vessel, based on photos I took in this spot over time.
When it became clear that the owners were not going to do anything about it, it's cargo of coal was auctioned off and was slowly unloaded. The oil was pumped out of it's tanks. Without the cargo it was hoped it might be able to be removed, but this did not transpire. It succumbed to its fate which was to be broken up gradually over the course of a few years by the relentless pounding of the Atlantic swells and the huge winter storms.
Below follows the bulk of the pictorial story of the fate of this vessel, based on photos I took in this spot over time.
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| The ship soon after it lodged on a sandbank |
During this period it formed a backdrop to the kite seasons that followed. Some kiters and others chose to interact with it and boarded it to explore. The most dramatic and insane of these boardings was Nick Jacobsen who chose to scale one of the cranes with his kite attached, eat a sandwich at the top, and then leap off.
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| April 2010. Kite race- Seli as an unwanted marker |
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| April 2010. The bridge towers over the kiters. |
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| April 2010. Kiting with a backdrop. |
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| April 2010. |
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| April 2010. |
The ship also formed a natural reef and created sandbanks on both sides that resulted in attractive surfing waves which were relished by stand up paddleboarders and kitesurfers alike. From time to time it unleashed dregs of oil from it's tanks. One of the spills affected amongst other things a number of penguins. The others were an inconvenience with oil clogging the beach. Sometimes the oil was virtually invisible and surfers and kiters would emerge with black smudges on their boards and equipment.
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| A stand up paddleboarder rides one of the swells resulting from the sandbanks caused by the ship. ( Note: This photo was sent to me by s friend ) |
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| October 2010. The bridge has been destroyed by the winter of 2010 and rust has set in. |
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| October 2010. |
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| 5th November 2011. The Seli 1 just before the free for all Guy Fawkes display that happens on the beach at Blouberg. Only two cranes remaining. |
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| January 2012. Performing before the wreck. |
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| Winter of 2012 |
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| The Seli gets pounded by a huge winter storm in August 2012. |
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| August 2012. |
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| December 2012. The storms have broken through the middle of the ship. The cranes have gone. Jagged, rusted and battered |
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| January 2013. Youri Zoon displays his skills at Kitebeach. The wreck poses behind. |
In March 2013 the navy took it as an exercise to blow up the remains. After many days of intermittent blasts two small platforms remained, which are probably undermined by the blasting and will be destroyed by the sea this winter.
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| March 2013. Navy personnel lay charges on one half of the ship's remains. |
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| March 2013. The remains of the bow. |
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| March 2013. A navy boat fetches personnel before a blast. |
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| March 2013. Navy craft with explosives and personnel on board |
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| Early winter storm of 2013 - swamps the remaining deck. |
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| April 2013. Spot the Seli ? This winters storms will remove all trace of it's visible remains, but below will still lie a man made reef. |
