Of natural concern to all is that the grounded ship is close to a residential area and also in the direct vicinity of an ecological sensitive area. The role of the Department of Local Government is to co-ordinate, monitor and support disaster management in the Western Cape and for this reason we attended the meeting and will be attending all future meetings related to the Sealand Express, both of SAMSA and of the national Department of Environmental Affairs.
I have this morning instructed my Department to specifically raise the issue of the hazardous materials on board the Sealand Express. After the meeting I have been assured:
- that the 33 containers onboard which contains hazardous materials do not pose any current danger to the environment
- that all the relevant authorities have been informed about the exact contents of these containers,
- that the necessary steps are in place to deal with the container from which compressed gas is leaking.
I have further been given the assurance that this gas does not pose any danger to man and environment.
I am confident that the salvage operation is in capable hands and that all the necessary measures are in place to deal with a worst case scenario. However all indications are that the preparations to reduce weight of the ship are proceeding according to plan, including the transfer of the 3 400 tons of bunker oil and the possible removal of some of the containers which could weigh up to 23,9 tons each. Priority will be given to the containers containing hazardous materials. This is being done to lighten the ship for a next attempt to tow the ship back into the open sea during spring tide. Of course this whole operation might be hampered by the cold weather, forecasted for the next three days.
