The hunt for the wreck of the sunken VLOC Stellar Daisy has stepped up a gear with the sailing of a sophisticated OSV from Cape Town over the weekend.
The multi-purpose offshore construction vessel Seabed Constructor (built 2014) sailed from the South African port bound for the South Atlantic.
The Polaris-owned 265,000-dwt Stellar Daisy (built 1993) sank on 31 March 2017, with the loss of 22 of its 24 crew.
The ship, which was transporting iron ore from Brazil to China, is believed to have gone down about 1,800 nautical miles due west of Cape Town.
Ocean Infinity said its team is expected to be on site and commencing search operations by mid-February 2019.
One of the families of the missing crew and two researchers, one from the Korea Institute of Ocean Science & Technology (KIOST) and one from the Korean Research Institute of Ships and Ocean Engineering (KRISO), have sailed with the Seabed Constructor.
“The team and equipment are set to execute the Stellar Daisy search plan and we are pleased that our ship begins her journey to the search area, in one of the most remote areas of the South Atlantic,” said Ocean Infinity chief executive Oliver Plunkett.
“We are working closely with the government of South Korea, and in turn with the families of the lost crew.
“We are pleased to confirm that as with our previous projects both the government and the families are represented on board, and we will be providing regular updates on our progress back to Seoul.”
Last December, the South Korean government selected Ocean Infinity to carry out the survey mission, with a reported budget of KRW 4.8bn ($4.2m).
The wreck of the bulker, which was converted from a 1993-built VLCC in 2008, is said to be lying at a depth of 3,000 metres.
Ocean Infinity hit the headlines last year when it agreed to the search for the missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 on a “no-cure, no-fee” basis.
