U.S. Ship Stranded Off Cape Town Holds Hazardous Materials

CAPE TOWN, South Africa, August 27, 2003 (ENS) - South African marine and hazardous materials experts are struggling against severe weather to refloat a U.S. flagged container ship, the Sea-Land Express, that grounded off the coast of Cape Town last week. The ship is lying in a sandy gully about 200 meters off Sunset Beach in Table Bay with a cargo of radioactive uranium ore, corrosive liquids, various chemicals and fireworks onboard.

Three attempts to refloat the stranded 32,926 ton vessel have failed. Renewed attempts will be made to refloat her on the next spring tide which is expected on Saturday, the South African Department of Transport said Tuesday at a media briefing in Cape Town.

The vessel is owned and operated by U.S. Ship Management, Inc., which has dispatched an operations and technical management team to Cape Town. It is chartered by Maersk Line Limited, USA, and deployed in the Maersk Sealand/Safmarine liner network.

To lighten the ship and reduce the risk of an oil spill, a salvage team has pumped some oil off the Sea-Land Express, but the ship to ship oil transfer was interrupted Monday as a result of weather conditions.

The oil pumping operation will begin again as soon as weather conditions improve, officials said. A total of 1,500 metric tons of the 3,700 tons of oil onboard have now been removed, and the tanks considered to be most at risk should the condition of the vessel change are now emptied of heavy oil. It is the aim of the salvage team to remove all remaining heavy oil, weather permitting, prior to the next refloating attempt, transport officials said.

The Sea-Land Express (Photo courtesy International Organization of Masters, Mates and Pilots)

Specialists on each product classed as hazardous have been consulted so that a modus operandi can be developed on a product-by-product basis, the Department of Transport said. Cargo will be removed under strict supervision and with the approval of the relevant authorities and weather permitting. This operation was expected to begin today once a powerful Mi8 helicopter, with a payload of five tons, arrives in Cape Town.

Transport officials said that all parties, including the ship owners, are in agreement that the hazardous cargo deemed to pose a more serious threat is least at risk while still onboard where it is stored in the approved manner and under constant monitoring. Should the condition of the vessel change, this cargo will be removed under approved conditions.

A hazmat technician will supervise the hazardous cargo removal operations and a hazmat paramedic will be onboard at all times. All containers classed as hazardous are being constantly monitored by the on-board chemist and salvage team, and they are not deemed to pose a threat to the safety of salvage personnel or crew onboard the Sea-Land Express or the public at this time, the Department of Transport told reporters.

The salvage and oil pollution prevention operation is being managed by a Joint Operations Committee involving all of the responsible and interested parties. The committee is chaired by Captain Bill Dernier of the South African Maritime Safety Authority. Dernier told reporters at the briefing that the vessel is still intact and there has been no leakage of any substance which might be detrimental to the crew on board and surrounding environment.

Dernier said at the briefing that watch officers on the vessel got into trouble because "There was a lack of appreciation on the part of the ship's officers on how close, or how precarious she was under the weather circumstances so close to the beach. It's as simple as that, " Dernier said.

Dernier confirmed in an interview with a Cape town newspaper that port control gave the ship several warning calls before she grounded. He said the ship started dragging her anchor several hours before she went aground.

Table Bay is located just northwest of the Cape of Good Hope on Africa's southern tip. (Photo © Images of Cape Town)

The department's 24 hour operational team and an anti-pollution control boat are monitoring and patrolling the area.

The Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism is appealing to members of the public to stay clear of the area, and has ordered the area cordoned off for a radius of 800 meters. "This is a precautionary measure to ensure the safety of the public and the salvage team, and to limit the environmental damage to the sensitive dune area," Lukey explained.

Dredging operations to clear the sandbar around the port shoulder of the vessel are planned in advance of the favorable tide, which will provide a 48 hour window of opportunity to the salvage team.

But Dave Main, a spokesman for the salvors Smit Pentow, said although he is trying to be optimistic, "If you had to speak to mathematicians and scientists, the odds are, quite frankly, that she's not going to come off."

"With the sandbank the way it is now, we can't actually physically lighten her enough to just float her off," said Main. "We're bargaining that, hopefully, the elements will assist us, and, of course, that the dredger will assist us."

Speaking at the briefing, Transport Minister Dullah Omar, and Environment Minister Valli Moosa, said removal of the oil was the biggest environmental concern.

Moosa said South Africa must strengthen its capacity "to take precautions both in legal terms and otherwise to avoid potential disaster on our waters."

The Maritime Safety Association, an agency of the Department of Transport, confirmed that there is a rift between South Africa's domestic aw and international law as it relates to the authority of the ship's captain and that of the domestic Port Authority.

The current situation is that the National Port Authority, whose responsibility is to ensure safe navigation, can only give advice to the officer in charge of the ship. There is no provision in terms of the law that allows for an instruction by the Port Authority.

We need to investigate ways through which we can channel international law provisions to allow our authorities some leverage in decision making powers," said Moosa.