It’s all systems go at the Port of Cape Town where operations have been severely affected in the past few days after a fire broke out on a fishing trawler.
According to Coen Birkenstock, Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) spokesman, the port is back in action after an eventful few days.
Landside and vessel operations came to a complete standstill due to the heavy smoke over the entire port while all staff working from the container terminal administration building had to be moved to other buildings for the same reason.
Birkenstock yesterday said the fire on the Verano, which started on Wednesday last week, had been extinguished but efforts were now under way to cool down the vessel.
The cause of the incident is still not known.
He said fire fighters had remained on scene although there was no further risk at the moment.
“Fire fighters will attempt to gain access to the vessel today (Tuesday) in order to de-water the top deck and to open hatches to apply expansion foam to speed up the cooling down process,” he said.
And while the port had been affected for most of last week, operations have been back on track since the weekend, he added.
Attempts to determine the cause of the blaze are ongoing.
