Two oil tankers involved in an oil spill incident at Algoa Bay near Ngqurha have finally been separated, a few days after accidentally spilling oil at sea during a ship-to-ship transfer.
However, the investigation into the cause of the spill and the search for any further oil that still needs to be retrieved from the ocean is continuing, the South African Maritime Safety Authority (Samsa), Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA), and the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment (DFFE) said in a recent joint incident management team statement.
The vessels were initially kept side-to-side to contain the spill in their location, the authorities said in the statement. Once most of the spilled oil around the vessels had been retrieved, the smaller tanker was released to sail back to Port Elizabeth while the larger vessel remained anchored offshore awaiting a berth at the port.
“The investigation into the cause of the oil spill on Monday in Algoa Bay is continuing,” Samsa, DFFE and Transnet said.
The team was still busy cleaning up and recovering the spilled oil on Thursday morning, while aerial surveillance using a drone and oil recovery boats continued.
“The two vessels involved were separated yesterday and the smaller vessel, MT Lefkas, has berthed at the Port of Port Elizabeth and all the oiled equipment has been removed from the water, posing no pollution threat to the port and its operations. The motor tanker Umnenga II is not able to enter port yet due to the unavailability of a suitable berth,” the authorities said.
“None of the oil has reached the beaches. Most of the oil was cleaned and there is no oil sheen visible on the waters.”
Samsa, DFFE and Transnet indicated that SANParks boat patrols in the area had revealed no oil near the Algoa Bay Islands and no oiled birds had been spotted.
Meanwhile, the surveillance of the coastal areas, as well as the ocean adjacent to the oil spill incident, was continuing.
“A fixed-wing aircraft with the state-of-the-art oil-sensing equipment has been chartered from Cape Town to conduct a full search for any oil over the entire Algoa Bay area. The aircraft will use high-definition cameras and oil detection systems to complete a full aerial surveillance of the Algoa Bay area,” the authorities said.
“If there is any oil spotted, the aircraft will also complete live oil spill modelling to determine the direction of oil, however the authorities are optimistic that most of the oil has been recovered and only the vessel hull cleaning needs to be completed. The Environmental Protection Vessel, the Sarah Baartman, is on standby in Algoa Bay to assist with the clean-up operations,” they said.
They confirmed that bunkering operations remained suspended.
Samsa, DFFE and Transnet urged members of the public not to approach or try to capture any affected wildlife but to report any oiled birds and animals to SANParks or SANCCOB Gqeberha at Cape Recife Nature Reserve on 063 942 4702.
“Rangers will continue to monitor the Islands for oiled birds returning from their feeding grounds in Algoa Bay,” the authorities added.
