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"It has not been heated for a week now, so we are going to try to put the oil into plastic tanks and fly it off the ship."
Mechanical problems caused the German owned MV Kiani Satu bulk carrier to run aground in heavy seas west of the Goukamma River estuary near Buffels Bay in the early hours of Thursday, 8 August. The vessel carried 330 tonnes of heavy fuel oil, and 15 000 tonnes of rice.
Oil polluted sea birds have since been found near Mossel Bay along the Klein Brak River- and Diaz beaches.
Immediately after the ship was stranded, NSRI crew were lowered onto the deck by helicopter to assist with rescuing the 19 crew members.
The crew were transferred to Mossel Bay and accommodated at the Point Hotel, while their documents were processed by the local Department of Home Affairs.
The crew consisted mainly of Fillipino's, two from the Ukraine, one from Venezuela and a Montenegron Captain. None had been seriously injured.
Race against time
According to press releases by SAMSA, initial attempts to salvage the vessel had to be delayed due to technical difficulties. It has since become a race against time as more bad weather has been forecast for the area.
"Efforts to float the vessel off the rocks on Wednesday morning (14 August) failed, as the swell wasn't high enough. The good news is that we have managed to swing the vessel with 45 degrees, which means it is no longer parallel to the beach.
It is important, because it gives our tug boat (Smit Amandla) more power to pull. The wind, which had previously pushed the ship against the beach, is now also on the other side," Capt Campbell reported.
Seeping through barriers
By Tuesday evening it was reported that oil had seeped through barriers set up on nearby rivers and into the Goukamma estuary.
The Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB) has rescued oiled sea birds and reports of oil covered penguins close to Mossel Bay were received by the Mossel Bay Advertiser.
The Department of Environmental Affairs' (DEA) Oil Spill Response team, in collaboration with the local authorities, SANParks and CapeNature, reported that they were working non-stop in putting up protection measures and cleaning up the oil spill in the estuaries on either side of the bulk carrier. The team has boomed off the Goukamma estuary.
Mossel Bay
In a press release on Wednesday, 14 August the NSRI said that, in conjunction with the ongoing safety on stand-by being carried out by NSRI Knysna volunteer sea rescue duty crews each day since the ships grounding, the NSRI Mossel Bay team arrived on scene at 05:00 on Tuesday and stood by on-scene for deep-sea safety, while a leg of heavy duty salvage operations progressed. This was conducted at the request of SAMSA.
The NSRI Mossel Bay were released from the stand-by at approximately 21:00 on Tuesday and arrived back at NSRI Mossel Bay at around 01:00 on Wednesday morning.
In Mossel Bay, Carol Walton of SAPREC, the sea bird rehabilitation centre in Mossdustria may be contacted on 082 364 3382 to assist with rescues. It is not advised that the birds be touched or handled unless absolutely necessary.
Oil moving off shore
The Department's oil spill aerial surveillance aircraft, Kuswag 9 (K9), reported that while light oil is visible on the beaches, most of the oil leaking from the bulk carrier is moving offshore away from the coast. The K9, currently stationed in George, is providing aerial monitoring twice a day.
The National Contingency Plan for the management of oils spills has been implemented. The DEA, as authority for oil spills, has identified the Knysna estuary as the priority should there be a major spill.
Contractors have since been appointed to manage any clean-up work in the Knysna and Gaukamma estuaries. The Goukamma and the Marine Protected Area process will be managed by DEA. It is estimated that any clean-up will take a minimum of five to six weeks.
Exclusion zone
There is a 1 000m exclusion zone around the vessel. All access to the area has been cordoned off and no public or unauthorised persons are allowed to enter this zone. Law enforcement and Green Scorpions have been deployed in Goukamma to stop illegal entries.
Penalties
Parliament's portfolio committee on Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries on Wednesday called for harsher penalties for sea polluters. Committee chairperson, Lulu Johnson, said there's an urgent need to protect marine resources around the country's seashore.
The Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB) has been appointed by the ship owner to support conservation authorities in the collection of oiled seabirds, and to undertake the stabilization and rehabilitation of oiled seabirds as a result of the incident.
In much calmer conditions on Saturday, 10 August, oil seeping from the stricken vessel was already noticable on the beach. Photo: Ernest Lamprecht
ARTICLE: NICKEY LE ROUX AND ANOESCHKA VON MECK
