The ‘Ocean Farm 1’, on its way from China to Norway, prompted fears of an alien invasion in South Africa, local newspaper The Herald reported.
The vessel carrying the ‘Ocean Farm 1’ caused a stir when moored in Algoa Bay, near Port Elizabeth, South Africa, where some residents thought they were being been invaded by aliens. Because of the ‘Ocean Farm 1’s unusual shape they mistook it for a spaceship that had landed on the sea.
Spaceship-looking thing
Scores of readers contacted The Herald asking for information on the ‘massive vessel’ and ‘spaceship-looking thing’ anchored about 3 kilometer off the Port Elizabeth shoreline.
Port Elizabeth harbour master Kgadi Matlala reassured the citizens by telling them the Chinese-based vessel was carrying aquafarming cages destined for Norway.
“The ship came in for shelter due to rough seas and was anchored further out in the bay during the course of Sunday,” she said.
“At about 11pm on Sunday night, they obtained permission to move closer to shore due to a heavy swell and bad weather conditions.”
The vessel will leave within a week.
Vulnerable to toppling
“Due to the size of the cargo the vessel is carrying, it is very dangerous to sail in rough seas and high winds. It makes the vessel vulnerable to capsizing in adverse weather conditions,” another official told the newspaper.
“Vessels like this spend most of their voyage ducking into various bays and ports for shelter during their trip.”
Ocean Farm 1
The 30,000-ton cargo vessel Hua Hai Long is towing what will become ‘Ocean Farm 1’, part of SalMar’s plans to geographically diversify its production by expanding offshore.
‘Ocean Farm 1’ will be positioned in Frohavet, off the coast of central Norway, in the second half of 2017.
