Effort stepped up to contain oil spill from vessel off Cape coast

More equipment was being readied to contain an oil spill from a ship that ran aground and started to break apart in stormy weather on SA’s west coast, though there were no signs of affected wildlife yet, authorities said on Monday.

Rough sea swells have battered the Panama-flagged general cargo vessel Ultra Galaxy since it drifted onto a sand bank three weeks ago close to Doring Bay, about 300km north of Cape Town, after the ship’s crew abandoned the vessel when it started taking on water.

“Salvage operations are continuing and more equipment is being mobilised to contain the oil spill,” said Tebogo Ramatjie, spokesperson for the SA Maritime Safety Authority (Samsa).

The spill took place over the weekend when the ship broke into four sections, with large waves almost seven metres high crashing into the wreck every 15 seconds at one stage, Samsa said.

A salvage team has managed to remove several lube oil drums and about eight tonnes of marine gas oil from the wreck’s fuel tanks. Samsa has said there was about 500 tonnes of fuel aboard the vessel that needed to be removed.

“We haven’t yet received any reports of oiled wildlife and there has not been reported sightings of oiled wildlife at this stage,” Monica Stassen of seabird conservation group SANCCOB said.

The spill happened along a corridor that endangered African penguins traverse when migrating from SA to Namibian waters, she said.

Pollution could also threaten Olifants River estuary further south, one of SA’s largest and home to flamingoes, herons and other water birds, Stassen added.

An oil spill contingency plan has been launched and about 125 people from local communities are helping with mopping up operations, Samsa’s Ramatjie said earlier.

US-based Resolve Marine, initially appointed to handle the salvage operation, has been replaced by SMIT International, he said.

Reuters