Stormy seas, adverse weather will cause delay in gas deliveries
AHEAD of yet another extreme cold front making landfall today, the rough, stormy seas and adverse weather conditions will also delay deliveries of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), a supplier has said.
The South African Weather Service (SAWS) said rainy and very cold conditions, with snow over the high-lying areas, would set in over the province from this afternoon through to Saturday.
Sunrise Energy said, with its terminal based at Saldanha Bay Port, “the terminal expects to deplete supplies or ‘stock out’ of LPG”.
“High sea swells ahead of the cold front have caused the port authority to suspend entry to the port. As a consequence of the port authority’s decision, ships carrying LPG, destined for delivery to the Sunrise Energy facility, have been unable to berth at our marine offloading facility using our multi-buoy mooring (MBM) point this week,” Sunrise Energy chief executive Pieter Coetzee said.
He added that one of the LPG supply ships had been delayed in loading its cargo in Chile, before departing for Saldanha Bay, also because of the stormy weather conditions.
“Saldanha Bay is prone to disruptions to operations during periods of heavy westerly swell,” maritime author and Cape Times shipping columnist Brian Ingpen said.
“That operations at the LPG discharge buoy will be disrupted by the anticipated heavy swell associated with the approaching cold front is a blow to local gas suppliers and consumers. This underlines the need for much larger reserve storage capacity at Saldanha Bay, and additional LPG discharge facilities in Cape Town, especially as the consumption of gas is increasing rapidly,” he said.
SAWS said rainfall accumulations of 20mm to 30mm could be expected.
“This rainfall may lead to localised flooding of informal settlements. Moreover, such flooding may also pose a distinct risk to safe driving on major roads. Motorists driving under such conditions are advised to reduce their speed (especially under conditions of reduced or impaired visibility) and to observe safe following distances,” SAWS said.
The City said its emergency services were on standby. Any weather-related emergencies can be directed to the City’s public emergency communication centre by dialling 021 480 7700 from a cellphone, or 107 from a landline.