The Globe Star was a cargo ship that ran aground on 27 April 1973 along Nyali Reef, just off the entrance to Mombasa

Mombasa

Mombasa is the second-largest city in Kenya. Lying next to the Indian Ocean, it has a major port and an international airport. The city also serves as the centre of the coastal tourism industry....

, Kenya

Kenya

Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...

. It was carrying 10,000 tons of wheat for Karachi. Despite an intensive salvage operation the vessel broke in half and was abandoned. In November five personnel involved in a salvage attempt died in No 3 hold due to gas poisoning while conducting diving operations. In 1978 the wreck was demolished by Divecon Ltd, Mombasa leaving the main engine visible and the remains of the ship in less than ten feet below the surface.

Building

The ship was built as the Burutu Palm for the London-based shipping company Palm Line

Palm Line

The Palm Line was a British-owned shipping line that was engaged in the West African trade from 1949, primarily servicing the ports along 5,000 miles of coastline from Morocco in the north to Angola in the far south....

trading to and from West Africa to Liverpool. In 1967, she was sold to Greek owners and in 1973 sold to Globe Navigation of Singapore.

Disaster

The Globe Star stranding was attributed to a navigation error in that the ship approached too close to the harbour entrance prior to picking up a pilot and having been advised to return to the anchorage, turned to starboard instead of port and ran aground.