The bulk carrier, Kiani Satu, has begun taking in water after she was re-floated at Buffalo Bay in the Southern Cape last weekend.
The South African Maritime Safety Authority (Samsa) says the vessel has extensively deteriorated since being towed off the coast.
She ran aground on a sandbank after experiencing mechanical failure earlier this month. Reports suggest that the vessel in now sinking.
“She has deteriorated. The lift has increased and that tells us we are getting water in the forward end of the ship. We are going to abandon attempts to take the oil off with another ship,” says the authority’s spokesperson, Captain Nigel Campbell.
He says he has issued an instruction for the salvors to get off the ship as soon as possible.
“As soon as they are off, the salvage tug should start heading south at the best possible speed to the deepest water,” he added.
The Western Cape government has thanked more than 300 staff involved in operations to free the Kiani Satu.
Salvors say they were helped by high swells and wind during their operation. So far, R25 million has been spent on the mission. – SABC