South Africa Races to Contain Oil Spill From Wrecked Cargo Ship
South Africa dispatched crews to contain an oil spill from a cargo vessel that ran aground earlier this month because of extreme weather conditions.
Strong waves eroded the hull of the 125-meter (410-foot) MV Ultra Galaxy, which beached at Brand se Baai northwest of Cape Town on July 9.
Salvage workers removed several lube oil drums and about eight tons of marine gas oil from the fuel tanks in the wreck, before weather conditions deteriorated and delayed operations, according to a statement by the South African Maritime Safety Authority.
Powerful waves over the weekend broke the vessel into four parts, leading to an oil spill, SAMSA said in the statement. That’s triggered a contingency plan to bring in 125 people from the local community to assist.
“All attempts are being made to contain the spill within the immediate area, and cleaning operations will continue,” SAMSA said.
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