The SELI 1 Joint response Committee has not met since September 23 as any further action has exceeded the mandate of the committee.
Small amounts of oil continue to surface and a cargo of 30 000 tonnes of coal is still on board that the owner has declined to remove presumably on the basis that the recovery and sale of this will defray expenses.
The owner has defaulted on insurance conditions policy. The insurer Russian P&I Pool has therefore withdrawn cover for pollution and wreck recovery and therefore the owner has withdrawn from financial responsibility. As a result liability to the state for mitigation and damage control services already rendered is in the region of $900 000.
The wreck, consisting of both ship and cargo, has effectively been abandoned.
The ship is not salvageable and while the coal, loaded in Durban has value, the Port of Cape Town is reluctant to accept a cargo of wet coal, aside from any customs and tax consideration for re importing in Cape Town. The ship cannot be refloated with the intention to sink it in deep water at least until the coal is removed.
Authorities agree that the wreck and its cargo must be removed from the beach for environmental reasons but where the money would come from is of great concern.
This report is a summary from a comprehensive communication from Capt Dave Colly of the South African Maritime Safety Authority ( SAMSA) in his personal capacity, as the authorites overseeing the matter ie SAMSA, the Department of Transport, the Department of Environmental Affairs, Transnet Ports Authority and the City of Cape Town, have not yet issued any official communiqués on the future of the SELI1.
The Joint Response Committee is standing by to reconvene when there is clarity on the way forward.
This is one massive stuff up and a disaster waiting to happen in the first big swell. Then the Joint Response Committee will reconvene. Then it will be clear for them that they will have to try to clean the beaches. Should we wait for the inevitable first or should they be pro active to try to prevent the disaster from happening?
Are we just going to wait or should we get together to make things uncomfortable for the local authorities and government, and get them to put a plan of action going now and not when it is too late?
Please send me your details so that we can plan what we will do in the nearby future.
– Anton
