The Chinese-owned bulk carrier, NS Qingdao, has arrived at Saldanha Bay where the first loads of fire-damaged toxic cargo were offloaded and taken to a hazardous dump site at the weekend.
Anton Bredell, Western Cape local government, environmental affairs and development planning MEC, said the ship had been brought to port to offload the damaged cargo to avoid a full-scale environmental disaster at sea.
The South African Maritime Safety Authority (Samsa) earlier told Freight News that the ship had been docked at St Helena after leaving Durban when a fire had broken out in its cargo hold. The ship was carrying hazardous cargo, including chemicals for fertiliser, oil and fuel, when the front section of the cargo hold, where the chemicals were stored, caught alight.
Samsa acting COO, Vernon Keller, said the fire had been smouldering for three months and emergency personnel had struggled to extinguish it.
A decision to dump the cargo was made after the environmental practitioners from IMO and the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment (DFFE) investigated.
“Nobody wants to hear that the ocean is being used as a dumping site, but in this case, all the relevant authorities are working together to minimise the risks to prevent a potential environmental disaster if left unchecked,” Bredell said.
He added that in early January the DFFE and Samsa had authorised the NS Qingdao to commence with the controlled dumping of unstable chemical cargo 250 kilometres off the west coast of South Africa.
“This was done to protect the integrity of the ship, and to prevent a full-scale disaster where the ship might have broken up due to an on-board fire, potentially polluting our coastline with its cargo as well as the fuel it carried.
“The ship was brought into the Port of Saldanha Bay over this past weekend. Approximately 1300 tons of cargo was dumped during the offshore exercise, and this has resulted in the on-board fire being brought under control,” he said.
“The emergency has now been downscaled from a severe maritime emergency to a salvage operation that can be safely managed in port.”
Bredell said that since Monday morning, 12 skips of five tons each had been successfully transferred to the Vissershok High Hazardous Waste Management site, with another 12 planned to be moved on Tuesday.
He said the Western Cape Government was working in full cooperation with national authorities who were responsible for the management of this crisis.
“The WC Department of Environmental Affairs has been part of the Joint Operations Committee from the start of the operation as early as December when the cargo became unstable, and the ship had to be towed out to sea.
“The decision to bring the vessel back to harbour was taken by Samsa and supported by DFFE representatives who conducted a vessel inspection offshore to determine whether it was safe to do so, and after reviewing reports from the chemical and fire specialists on-board.”
He said Transnet National Ports Authority had provided a berth for the vessel and was confident that it was safe for it to dock in the port.
“We want to be sure that all safety protocols are being adhered to, and that the salvage operation is done in a safe and responsible manner.”
Bredell said Samsa and the DFFE were in discussion with the vessel owner and insurers to arrange a medium- to long-term environmental monitoring programme so that any potential future impacts could be managed responsibly and as fast as possible.
The cause of the incident is still under investigation, and a chemical analysis of the cargo is being conducted to determine the underlying factors for the fire, and whether the vessel had any undeclared cargo in the hold.
