Cops posted near stranded ship

2003-08-29 16:18

Cape Town - Police will be posted at Sunset Beach to prevent members of the public getting within 800m of the beached Sealand Express, Cape Town disaster management said on Friday.

Spokesman Geoff Laskey said the decision was taken to protect the environment and the public.

"Firstly we have to protect that environment from too many people. And there are chemicals on the ship so we don't know, anything can happen," he said.

There is approximately 108 tons of heavy fuel oil in the settling and service tanks and approximately 80 tons of unpumpable heavy fuel oil onboard.

Only residents and emergency personal would have access to the area.

Laskey said visitors to the area should park their cars at the Milnerton lighthouse or at the parking area just north of Dolphin Beach.

He said the commercial centres and other areas of Sunset Beach outside the 800m exclusion zone would not be affected by the arrangement.

Salvors Smit Marine were still preparing the vessel for refloating on Friday.

The team were hoping to take advantage of the high tide swells predicted for Friday evening.

- SAPA