Staff Writer
THE City of Cape Town yesterday completed an oil spill clean-up operation at Bloubergstrand after oil seeped from the wrecked hull of the Seli 1 which had broken into three pieces.
“The rapid response by the city’s disaster response teams has averted serious pollution of marine life and environment over this past weekend,” said mayoral committee member for safety JP Smith.
He said the city was concerned about the situation because the vessel had had a negative impact on the environment and the coastline since it was stranded in 2009.
He said the city will call an urgent meeting with the South African Marine Safety Authority (Samsa) to determine the fate of the vessel and to establish what other preventative measures needed to be implemented.
“The city believes that Samsa and the National Ports Authority are legally responsible on behalf of the Department of Transport to ensure the safety of life and property at sea and within the port area; and to prevent and combat pollution of the marine environment by ships,” he said
Smith, however, said existing marine legislation did not compel Samsa to manage the wreck. He said the city had engaged its legal advisers on using the disaster management legislation to address the crisis.
“The city, together with the Department of Environmental Affairs, will continue to monitor the impact of the oil spill on the environment and wildlife in the vessel’s vicinity,” Smith said.