Substance on beach worries citizens
A substance on the beach between Hartenbos and Dias sparked concern from two residents, while they were taking their usual walk along this route on Wednesday.
A woman and her daughter noticed something bubbling up from the sand and said it had a yellow colour and smelled like fuel.
They contacted various parties, one of which was Mossel Bay Advertiser. Accompanied by the woman and her daughter, the Advertiser went to the area later that day. The two had put a marker in the sand where they saw the bubbles.
Although the bubbles could not be seen due to low tide, a strong smell was still present when the woman dug a hole in the sand.
Upon the Advertiser's enquiry to the Mossel Bay Municipality, it said it had been alerted of the issue and in response had deployed its environmental contractor to the site.
"The municipality has informed PetroSA, who in turn responded by dispatching a team to the site where an investigation will be done."
PetroSA group manager of communications Nonny Mashika-Dennison, said
PetroSA had received notifications of an alleged fuel leak. "As a responsible corporate citizen, PetroSA undertook an investigation as guided by various policies and procedures for investigating matters of such a nature."
According to Mashika-Dennison, the preliminary results indicate "compounds relating to possible decaying plant and animal material".
"In addition, the stain visible on the beach sand, is historic and not related to any recent activity that is occurring because of leaking pipelines at the Single Point Mooring in Voorbaai or ship bunkering activities.
"Furthermore, the bubbles evident are as a result of aeration (the ebb and flow of the waves) within the surf zone and not from a petroleum product as alleged."