Salvage attempt poses no risk to Blue Flag status of Clifton 4th Beach

The City of Cape Town would like to stress that the on-going attempts to salvage the Eihatsu Maru, a Japanese longliner that ran aground near Clifton on Saturday, pose no threat to the Blue Flag status of Clifton 4th Beach.

A Blue Flag is an international award given to beaches that meet excellence in the areas of safety, amenities, cleanliness and environmental standards.

Salvage teams from SMIT Amandla Marine reassembled earlier this morning to effect the operation. The team attempted to pull the vessel from where it has run aground by using the “soaking” technique, whereby the team builds up the pressure gradually so that maximum pressure coincides with the highest forecasted sea water levels. Unfortunately, this attempt was unsuccessful.

The salvage team will be laying a thick black rubber bladder on the beach as a precaution against any oil spills, although the City would like to re-iterate that the pollution risk posed by this operation remains very low. As a result of today’s unsuccessful attempts to re-float the ship, arrangements are being made for the decanting of fuel into the rubber bladder. This will provide buoyancy and will hopefully result in a successful attempt during the course of tomorrow. At this stage the quantity to be decanted is unclear, however only a certain volume of fuel will need to be removed to provide the buoyancy required for the operation. The quantity of fuel to be pumped will be decided later today.

SMIT Amandla Marine are currently in the process of reconnecting lines from the stranded vessel to a John Ross tug that is powerful enough to pull the vessel into deeper waters.

The City has arranged for adequate law enforcement to be present in the area to assist with regulating civilian access to the areas affected. The public are advised that Clifton 1st, 2nd and 3rd Beaches are closed, but Clifton 4th Beach remains open to the public.

“In the event that salvage attempts are again unsuccessful, a risk assessment will be conducted and the public will be informed accordingly,” said Councillor Tandeka Gqada, Mayoral Committee Member for Community Services.

End

Wilfred Schrevian Evan Solomons-Johannes
Head: Systems Integration & Special Projects
Acting Head: Disaster Operations Centre
Disaster Risk Management Centre