Good progress is being made with the bulk-carrier NS Qingdao salvage operation at the Port of Saldanha Bay.
Anton Bredell, Western Cape Minister of Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning, was briefed on the current situation of the NS Qingdao bulk-cargo ship, which is currently off-loading contaminated cargo at the Port of Saldanha on the West Coast and days since Monday (15 February), a total of 152 skips, each containing 5 tons of waste material, have been disposed of at the Vissershok High Hazardous Waste Management Site.
A small amount of contaminated water was recovered from the affected cargo hold, and this has also been analysed and disposed of at Vissershok.
“The salvage operation of the contaminated chemical cargo from the NS Qingdao at the Port of Saldanha Bay is progressing in a safe and well-coordinated manner,” Bredell said.
Early in January the NS Qingdao was authorised by the National Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment (DFFE) and the South African Maritime Safety Authorities (Samsa) to commence with a controlled dumping of unstable chemical cargo 250 km off the West Coast in 3 000 m deep water.
This was done to protect the integrity of the ship and prevent a full-scale disaster when the ship was in danger of breaking up due to a fire on board, potentially polluting our coastline with its cargo as well as the fuel it carried.
Approximately 1 450 tons of cargo was dumped during the offshore exercise, assisting in bringing the fire under control.
The emergency has since been downscaled from a severe maritime emergency to a salvage operation that can be safely managed in port.
Bredell said he is pleased with the excellent cooperation between the various role players in managing the situation.
The decision to bring the vessel back to harbour in late January was taken.
Bredell said he is pleased to note Samsa and the DFFE 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 DFFE has initiated an Environmental Impact Study on the ocean dumping aspect of the operation.
It includes the development of drift models and sample collection in the affected area.
The salvage operation is expected to continue for the rest of February into March, before the vessel is set to sail for its destination in Brazil.
