Sun sets on Orca

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MOSSEL BAY NEWS - The towing away of the Orca drilling rig, which was in the bay of Mossel Bay, started at about 16:00 on Wednesday, 16 February.

The Orca is bound for Alang in India. It is being towed by the tug, the Hulk II. Its speed/course was 3.7 knots / 146° at the start of the journey. The estimated date of arrival in Alang is 9 April 2022, according to www.marinetraffic.com.

The town of Alang is in the Bhavnagar district in Gujarat state in India. Because it is home to the Alang Ship Breaking Yard, Alang beaches are considered the world's largest ship graveyard, Wikipedia notes.

PHOTO GALLERY: Orca is on it's way to India

On the Road to Alang is a 2005 documentary on passenger ships scrapped at Alang, by Peter Knego of Maritime Matters, according to Wikipedia. And Shipbreakers is a 2004 documentary on the industry in Alang by Michael Kot.

The Orca in its "heyday", with the flame burning.

The Mossel Bay Advertiser previously reported that the Orca would be sold by the new owner and be "recycled", according to him.

To track the progress of Hulk II and the Orca, Google "Hulk II current position" and then go to www.marinetraffic.com, where the position of the vessel is updated periodically.

Many Mossel Bay residents expressed their feelings about the Orca leaving the bay on social media. There were hundreds of posts and many shares of posts.

There was much speculation as to who had bought the Orca, exactly how much money was paid for it and where it was headed. The Orca was owned by PetroSA. The buyer of the Orca prefers to remain anonymous.

In a poll held on the Mossel Bay Advertiser website about 90% of respondents noted they would not miss the Orca and that it had been a waste of taxpayers' money keeping it in the bay.