Public kept away from ship
2003-08-23 18:00
Cape Town - Members of the public, who this week flocked to see the Sealand Express stranded on the shore of Table Bay, have now been banned from going within 800m of the wreck.
This was announced on Saturday by the joint operations committee set up to deal with the incident, along with the news that almost half the fuel has already been pumped off the vessel.
The ban follows an earlier warning to water- and air-borne rubberneckers, as well as concerns over the damage that hundreds of sightseers on land were doing to fragile dune vegetation.
The committee said in its daily situation report that there were a number of incidents in the last 48 hours in which members of the public "placed themselves in harms way" and jeopardised the safety of the salvage operation.
"The department of environmental affairs and tourism in consultation with the authorities have agreed to close the area within an 800 metre radius both at sea and ashore to the public," it said in a statement.
Department spokesperson Carol Moses said the ban was also to protect the environment.
"It's a very sensitive dune area with fynbos etcetera. As a result of everybody streaming in numbers to see the vessel they just trampled in that particular area. They didn't stick to the paths that were demarcated."
Those people living inside the 800m zone were "obviously" exempt, along with members of the media.
"Our intention is not to keep information from the public."
The committee's statement also said good progress was made on Friday night in pumping off the 3 700 tons of fuel oil on the vessel, which is being done in a bid to lighten her for another refloating attempt.
Coastal tanker
About 1 500 tons had already been removed, initially to a waiting tug and, from Friday evening, to the coastal tanker Oranjemund.
"Salvors anticipate disconnecting the hoses, a process that takes one-and-a-half to two hours, and halting the ship-to-ship transfer at some point during the course of the afternoon, in preparation for the bad weather expected to reach Cape Town later today.
"The weather forecast would indicate that high swell conditions will be experienced until late Monday."
The salvage team, from salvors Smit Marine, would be on standby to resume when the weather improved.
A chemical engineer on Friday supervised the cold cutting of a hole into a container on the vessel which contained a drum of leaking and flammable acetate and filled it with inert carbon dioxide to eliminate a fire risk.
Contingency plans for the removal of the approximately 30 containers classed as hazardous were in place and to this end a powerful helicopter was en route to Cape Town.
"The appropriate authorities are being consulted and operational details of this plan are being finalised and should be available within the next 48 hours."
The cargo includes 50 tons of concentrated uranium ore, 18 000kg of antimony, a toxic metal used in industrial processes, a number of other industrial chemicals, and - according to a report in a weekend newspaper - 100 000 litres of South African-made tequila destined for the United States.
The Sealand Express, a 257-m USA-flagged container ship, ran aground 200m off Sunset Beach on Tuesday morning in foul weather, after dragging her anchor.
- SAPA