Suspected oil spill forces beach closures
WHILE taking a stroll along the beach on Monday, beach users between Hartenbos and Bayview beaches in Mossel Bay and surrounding areas of the Western Cape were alarmed to find what looked like tiny tar pellets sticking to the bottom of their feet and hands.
Mossel Bay Municipality said this was found to be the result of a heavy furnace oil spill that had broken up into small pellets that were washing up on to beaches all along the coastline, from Gouritzmond to Plettenberg Bay. Several beaches, including Hartenbos, Diaz, Santos, Kanon and others in Mossel Bay, were closed to assist the clean-up operations.
Gerhard Otto, head of disaster management at the Garden Route District Municipality (GRDM) said the clean-up of the spill was still ongoing and the source remained unknown, but stakeholders were investigating the incident. The GRDM’s Joint Operations Centre (JOC) hosted a meeting yesterday to discuss the current state of the small-scale oil/hydrocarbons spill detected in the last day or two with the key objective of mitigating the effects of oil droplets on the environment and marine life, as well as to promptly clean the temporarily closed beaches and reopen them before the holiday season.
CapeNature said aerial surveys were conducted to see if an offshore source could be found and samples were collected to identify the contaminant and possible source by trained samplers. Select leaders of clean-up teams would receive training to effectively supervise the larger clean-up teams.
Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning MEC Anton Bredell said an assessment was being undertaken to see the extent of the spill as the SA Maritime Safety Authority (Samsa) led the Incident Command (IC) in its response.
CapeNature was assisting with clean-ups where possible and co-ordinating the protection, collection and transport of oiled wildlife.