Ramos calls for port safety checks after Durban fire

TRANSNET CHIEF executive
officer Maria Ramos said in
Cape Town last week that
special safety checks would
be carried out at all ports
following the devastating fire
at the Durban Island View
complex.
Ramos, who said she
had been kept informed
throughout the night, said that
port and city emergency fire
services, disaster management
teams and port authorities
should meet regularly to
ensure that contingency plans
were up to date and in place.
Her comments followed
Durban harbour’s worst ever
fire last Tuesday evening,
which broke out with a series
of explosions at the sprawling
Island View petrochemical
complex housing over 1000
storage tanks containing a
veritable cocktail of chemicals
and oil products for import
and export.
The fire raged fiercely
for about five hours as
emergency services first
cordoned off the area and
then began evacuating both
the complex and a section of
the neighbouring suburb of
the Bluff. Police patrolled the
streets broadcasting warnings
to residents to vacate their
homes immediately and
congregate at churches and
sports halls, where many spent
the night.
Meanwhile fire services
fought the blaze, which was
confined to one section of
Island View Storage owned
by Bidvest. Eight tanks were
either burned out or severely
damaged. By morning the fires
were out except for one tank
which continued to burn most
of the day as firemen allowed
it to extinguish itself.
Shortly after the fire
began, ships on berth at
Island View were moved to
the outer anchorage and as
a precautionary measure
container working at Pier
1 and Durban Container
Terminals was halted.
Container working resumed
the next morning but ships
only returned to Island View
berths during Thursday. There
is no indication as yet what
effect if any the fire will have
on petrochemical imports and
exports.
It is thought the fire began
with a road vehicle but this
has not been confirmed. Nor
have the contents of the eight
tanks been revealed, with
authorities hiding behind the
fact that the terminal is a
national key point.
This is despite requests for
information on atmospheric
toxicity levels experienced
both during the fire and
afterwards. It was later learned
that hundreds of dead fish
were seen floating in the
waters of the Island View
basin, which is normally closed
to the public.