The Sea Elephant tanker, which was grounded on the shallow sea bed off the north eastern shore of Cayman Brac over the weekend, has left for Grand Cayman after temporary repairs to its damaged hull.
The Department of Environment and Cayman Islands Coast Guard confirmed on Friday that the vessel departed Cayman Brac on Thursday afternoon en route to Grand Cayman “to an anchorage point that offers protection to carry out any additional repair work that may need to be completed”.
The Cayman Compass understands the ship will be anchored off the George Town Harbour.
The DoE, Coast Guard and the Maritime Authority of the Cayman Islands are conducting an investigation into the grounding incident that happened last Saturday.
It was reported that the vessel was delivering diesel fuel to the Brac when it ran aground on some “high coral heads” on the shallow seabed.
The government confirmed there had been no fuel leakage from the double-hull tanker.
The statement reconfirmed Friday that “no fuel or oils were released into the sea at or after the grounding”.
“Marine Surveyors from the Maritime Authority of the Cayman Islands have stated that additional inspections are needed to assess the effectiveness of the temporary repairs to the damaged hull of the vessel that were initially carried out in Cayman Brac and to determine the need for additional repair work,” the statement said.
Once completed, the statement added that, any additional repairs will again be assessed by an inspector from the Maritime Authority.
“Should it be determined that the vessel is seaworthy for international voyage, she will be authorised to depart Cayman waters to undergo permanent repairs at a location chosen by her owners,” the statement said.
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