Ikan Tanda was a Japanese built cargo

Cargo

Cargo is goods or produce transported, generally for commercial gain, by ship, aircraft, train, van or truck. In modern times, containers are used in most intermodal long-haul cargo transport.-Marine:...

 carrier which ran aground off the coast of Cape Town

Cape Town

Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...

, South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

 in 2001.

History

The Ikan Tanda was built in 1979 as the Amazon by Ishikawajima Kure of Japan. The 17,800 DWT

Deadweight tonnage

Deadweight tonnage is a measure of how much weight a ship is carrying or can safely carry. It is the sum of the weights of cargo, fuel, fresh water, ballast water, provisions, passengers, and crew...

 vessel was later sold to PACC Ship Managers Pte. Ltd. of Singapore.

Wreck

On 5 September 2001, the ship suffered a fire in its engine room and suffered a loss of power about 40 km from Cape Town, South Africa. This normally would not have been a severe problem, however, the ship was in a major storm at the time and began drifting toward land. The ship drifted for 3 hours until it was in shallow enough water to drop anchor, however, the 10m high seas and 50 knot winds overpowered the anchors and drove the vessel aground near the langkop lighthouse.

Salvaging efforts

The crew of the Ikan Tanda were rescued by South African Air Force (SAAF) Oryx helicopters, and a salvage tug, the John Ross was dispatched to aid in the recovery of the ship. Ultimately, the ship was re-floated, but was scuttled 200 miles west of Cape Town.