Cape Town - Progress continues to be made in the NS Qingdao bulk cargo ship’s salvage operation at the Port of Saldanha Bay.
This comes after a severe maritime emergency resulted in the ship having to conduct a controlled dumping of unstable chemical cargo off the West Coast.
In January, the ship was authorised by the national Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries and (DEFF) and the South African Maritime Safety Authorities (Samsa) to commence with controlled dumping of unstable chemical cargo 250km off the West Coast of South Africa in 3 000m deep water to prevent the ship from catching fire and further endangering the people on board and the coastline.
While the situation had undergone various challenges over the past few months and control was regained, Local Government MEC Anton Bredell said the emergency was eventually downscaled from a severe maritime emergency to a salvage operation that could be safely managed in Port of Saldanha Bay.
After being briefed on the status of the situation yesterday, Bredell said good progress was being made with the salvage operation, and was pleased with the co-operation between the various role players in managing the situation.
“As of February 15, a total of 152 skips, each containing 5 tons of waste material, has been disposed of at the Vissershok High Hazardous Waste Management Site,” said Bredell.
A small amount of contaminated water was recovered from the affected cargo hold, and this was analysed and then disposed of at Vissershok.
Bredell said the Western Cape Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning was part of the Joint Operations Committee from the start of the operation as early as December 2021 when the cargo became unstable and the ship had to be towed out to sea.
Samsa and the DEFF were in discussions with the vessel’s owners and insurers to arrange a medium to long-term environmental monitoring programme so that any potential future impacts can be managed.
The department initiated an Environmental Impact Study on the ocean-dumping aspect of the operation which included the development of drift models and sample collection in the affected area.
“Satellite monitoring of the ocean will continue to develop a clear understanding of the potential impact the dumping might have had on the environment. Toxicology testing will be conducted on endemic mussel species, and any suspect marine life that washes up on the beach will be sent for autopsies with a state veterinarian,” said Bredell.
The cause of the incident was still under investigation and a chemical analysis of the cargo was being conducted to determine the underlying factors for the fire and whether the vessel had any undeclared cargo in the hold.