Photos: South African Navy completes initial wreck reduction efforts

The Joint Multi-agency Task Team monitoring the Seli 1 wreck reduction process has announced that the Operational Diving Team (ODT) of the South African Navy has completed the initial wreck reduction efforts.

While the wreck is still visible, significant progress has been made in weakening its structure and it is expected that it is now sufficiently weakened to enable the ocean forces to collapse it onto the seabed during the upcoming winter, as originally intended.

The ODT in conjunction with the Department of Transport will conduct further assessments of the wreck to assist the Task Team in determining if the objectives of the operation have been met and whether any further work is required. Further decisions will then be made in this regard.

The Task Team reported that minimal quantities of oil released from the wreck were promptly contained and dealt with. In addition, marine life was largely unaffected by the operation. Clean-up contingency measures will remain in place.

Given that the wreck has been substantially weakened, it constitutes a danger and is therefore unsafe to the public. The public is required to remain clear of the wreck at all times.

The public will be kept updated of further developments.

The Task Team would like to thank the residents of Table View and the general public for their cooperation during the operation.

End

Issued by: Integrated Strategic Communication and Branding Department, City of Cape Town

For operational enquiries: Wilfred Solomons-Johannes, Head: Systems Integration, Special Projects and Disaster Operations, Disaster Risk Management Centre, City of Cape Town

SEA RESCUE – STILL BAY – Wednesday, 20th March, 2013. Fishing boat sinks, all crew rescued

Enrico Menezies, NSRI Still Bay station commander, said:

"At 18h40 (Wednesday, 20th March) NSRI Still Bay volunteer sea rescue duty crew were activated by the Transnet National Ports Authority following a request for assistance from the 26 foot commercial fishing boat DANELLA II, with 7 local crewmen onboard, reporting to be taking water through a hole in midships 44 nautical miles South West of Still Bay, deep-sea between Still Bay and Witsand at Alpha Bunker (fishing grounds).

"DANELLA II had launched from Still Bay to go fishing deep-sea at Alpha Bunker, accompanied by two fellow boats, but on arrival at the fishing grounds they found that they were taking water through a hole in midships. The hole had appeared from unknown causes.

"Water intake through the hole could only be partially stemmed with the boat underway and while they began to pump water out of the boat, using water pumps, they raised the alarm by calling Telkom Maritime Radio Services on the emergency radio frequency requesting assistance.

"DANELLA II had begun heading towards Still Bay while NSRI Still Bay activated a rescue effort. The skipper and crew were fighting to save their boat pumping water out while making best speed towards Still Bay.

"Our NSRI Still Bay volunteer sea rescue duty crew launched our sea rescue craft SPIRIT OF ST FRANCIS and responded to rendezvous with the DANELLA II and NSRI Witsand and NSRI AGULHAS, the SA Police Services and the WC Government Health EMS were placed on alert.

"Telkom Maritime Radio Services remained in radio contact with DANELLA II while continuing to plot her course ensuring that the sea rescue craft rendezvoused with her and maintaining radio communications during the rescue operation.

"On arrival on-scene, at 21h00, 32 nautical miles South West of Still Bay, we found DANELLA II heavy in the water in choppy seas and initially 4 of the 7 crew were taken off the casualty boat (transferred onto our sea rescue craft) to lighten the casualty boat and we continued to assist to pump water out.

"We escorted DANELLA II towards Still Bay for a further 5 nautical miles but the hole had appeared to get larger and the casualty boat was getting very heavy in the water, despite the best efforts to pump water out of the casualty boat and trying to get her safely to shore, and the decision was taken by the casualty boat skipper to abandon ship.

"The skipper of DANELLA II, Anthony Richards, from Still Bay, had made a massive effort to save his boat while ensuring the safety of his crew.
"The skipper realizing that a decision would have to be made on wether to try to continue on towards Still Bay or abandon his boat.

"It was an emotional moment when the decision to abandon ship came from the skipper and 5 minutes after the remaining 3 crew members were safely taken off the casualty boat she filled with water and sunk. Only her bow remains out of the water, with an air pocket trapped in the bow, and we anchored the casualty boat to prevent her from drifting.

"We remained on the scene for a further 15 minutes but the casualty boat did not sink completely. 28 nautical miles South West of Still Bay only a small section of the bow remains above of water.

"Telkom Maritime Radio Services are broadcasting a navigational warning to vessels in the area warning of the navigational hazard.

"All 7 crew members of the casualty boat were brought safely ashore to Still Bay aboard our sea rescue craft. There were no injuries. The rescue operation was completed at 23h45.

"The owners have not decided if a salvage operation will be attempted or if the semi sunk casualty boat will be scuttled at sea and it is unknown at this stage if the casualty boat has perhaps now sunk completely."


-ENDS-


Released by:


Craig Lambinon
Sea Rescue Communications

Photos: SA Navy 3rd day of weakening Seli 1 wreck by blasting with explosives

Images: Bruce Sutherland, Principal Photographer, City of Cape Town ( Click on images for larger view.)

STATEMENT BY THE CITY’S MAYORAL COMMITTEE MEMBER FOR SAFETY AND SECURITY, ALDERMAN J.P. SMITH: City grateful to SA Navy for assistance with Seli 1 wreck reduction

The City of Cape Town is pleased with the progress of the wreck reduction activities undertaken thus far in respect of the Seli 1 wreck.

The purpose of the operation is to strategically weaken the structure of the wreck and for it to be collapsed onto the seabed by the ocean forces.

A renewed appeal is made to the general public to adhere to the restrictions that are in place as well as instructions of the various law enforcement agencies present on-site. The public is not allowed to access the wreck under any circumstances.

Whilst the operation is going as planned, the public is reminded that the wreck may remain visible until dismantled by the ocean forces.

The operation follows the Department of Transport enlisting the assistance of the South African (SA) Navy to undertake the wreck reduction process. In addition, the City of Cape Town, the South African Maritime Safety Authority(SAMSA), the Department of Environmental Affairs and other supporting agencies are assisting with the provision of resources and manpower.

The SA Navy is undertaking this operation as part of its continuous training exercises and no funding has been allocated to the SA Navy.

The joint multi-agency task team is grateful to the SA Navy, given the costs that would otherwise have been incurred by the Department of Transport to undertake this operation.

The contingency measures will remain in place for the duration of the operation to deal with any oil pollution incidents.

End

Issued by: Integrated Strategic Communication and Branding Department, City of Cape Town

For Operational enquiries: Wilfred Solomons-Johannes, Head: Systems Integration, Special Projects and Disaster Operations, Disaster Risk Management Centre, City of Cape Town

Photos: Seli 1 wreck reduction well underway

= Images: Bruce Sutherland, Principal Photographer, City of Cape Town

Good progress has been made on the Seli 1 wreck reduction efforts, with the focus of today’s activities being on weakening the bow that keeps the wreck intact.


An Operational Diving Team (ODT) of the SA Navy had earlier commenced with the wreck reduction of the Seli 1 on Monday 11 February 2013. The planned operation is a phased approach which will involve precision blow-cutting in order to weaken the structure of the wreck.

Significant progress has been made to weaken the vessel and the focus of the ODT will now be on the containment area where the oil tanks are located.

The ODT is conducting continuous assessments to determine the structural integrity of the wreck.

The objectives of the operation involve the weakening of the vessel and the release of potential oils on-board.

The desired outcomes of the operation are as follows:

· mitigate further altering of the coastline by means of erosion

· eliminate navigational hazards to small craft in the immediate area

· reduce risks to recreational users

· eliminate further oil spills

The general public are informed that the wreck may remain visible until ocean forces further assist in collapsing it onto the seabed.

The established Joint Task Team has put in place contingency measures to deal with potential oil spills and contamination of marine life.

The relevant authorities have on-site monitoring staff and standby teams in place for the duration of the operation.

The City of Cape Town once again appeals to the general public to adhere to the following safety measures that are being enforced:

· The entire beach and dune area opposite the wreck is closed to the public and demarcated parking areas are off-limits

· Recreational activities are not permitted

· An area of approximately 1 000m surrounding the wreck is off-limits to all vessels and water users during the operation. The various law enforcement agencies are actively policing the off-limits areas

· The airspace surrounding the wreck is prohibited and no aircraft are allowed to operate within this space

The public will be kept updated on progress with the wreck reduction operation.

The City apologises for any inconvenience caused and thanks residents and the general public for their cooperation and understanding.

End

Issued by: Integrated Strategic Communication and Branding Department, City of Cape Town

Source: Wilfred Solomons-Johannes, Head: Systems Integration, Special Projects and Disaster Operations, Disaster Risk Management Centre, City of Cape Town

Seli 1 wreck reduction attempt set to take place next week

A wreck reduction process in respect of the stranded Seli 1 vessel is, subject to favourable weather conditions, set to commence during the week of 11 March 2013.

The South African Navy, who have recently carried out an investigation and survey of the wreck, have been enlisted by The Department of Transport to undertake the operation. Assistance in the form of resources and manpower will also be provided by the City of Cape Town, the South African Maritime Safety Authority and the Department of Environmental Affairs.

The wreck reduction, planned and undertaken through a multi-agency Task Team, is intended to strategically weaken the wreck structure and, with the help of the ocean forces, collapse it onto the seabed.

Remedial and protective measures are being put in place by the Joint Task Team to manage and mitigate the release of any oils or pollutants, and the impact of this on the coastline and marine life. All risks with regards to oil pollution and the sensitive marine environment have been considered. Standby teams to respond to any oil pollution or oiling of seabirds will be in place, and SANCCOB and the Animal Demography Unit at the University of Cape Town have been engaged as part of the process.

The complete collapsing of the wreck in this manner and the release of remaining pollutants under controlled conditions will likely remove all remaining negative impacts of the Seli 1 on our coastline. Subsequent to the operation, however, an assessment will be undertaken to determine if any further work is required.

On 7 September 2009 the Seli 1 experienced engine problems and sought refuge in Table Bay. A snapped anchor chain compounded with reduced engine power and stormy weather conditions culminated in the vessel grounding off the Table View Beach shortly before midnight.

Since the stranding, the vessel has posed several risks as evident from the oil slicks experienced, the contamination of marine life and the pollution of the shoreline. The presence of the vessel has also resulted in the altering of the Table Bay coastline by means of accretion and erosion. The vessel also poses a risk to recreational beach users, especially kite surfers.

The Joint Task Team is pleased that the South African Navy will commence the wreck reduction process before the 2013 winter.

“It is extremely significant that this process will be commencing before the winter period, which in all likelihood would result in further breakup of the vessel, increased oil spills and oil contamination. In addition, the sea conditions during winter are such that the operation would not be viable,” said Alderman JP Smith, Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security.

The public are required to adhere to the following safety measures as from 11 March 2013 until further advised:

· The entire beach and dune area opposite the wreck will be closed to the public and demarcated parking areas will also be off-limits;

· Recreational activities are not permitted;

· An area of approximately 1000m surrounding the wreck will be off-limits to all vessels and water users during the operation. Active policing of the off-limits area will be in force by various law enforcement agencies; and

· The airspace surrounding the wreck is prohibited and no aircraft are allowed to operate.

Updates on the wreck reduction will be issued and the public will be informed as to when the area is re-opened for recreation.

The City is endeavouring to ensure that the impact to residents is minimised. The cooperation and assistance of the public will be greatly appreciated.

End

Issued by: Integrated Strategic Communication and Branding Department, City of Cape Town

For Operational enquiries: Wilfred Solomons-Johannes, Head: Systems Integration, Special Projects & Disaster Operations, Disaster Risk Management Centre, City of Cape Town

Free diving the Seli 1

Published on Nov 11, 2012 by Nicholas Crosskill

The MV Seli 1 was a Turkish bulk carrier, operated by TEB Maritime of Istanbul, that was en route to Gibraltar when it was driven aground off Bloubergstrand near Table Bay by strong westerly winds shortly after midnight on 8 September 2009, having reported engine failure and a snapped anchor chain.

Panamanian-registered Seli 1, registered to Turkey's Ataduru Denizcilik, was carrying a cargo of 30,000 tons of coal, and 660 tonnes of heavy fuel oil with 60 tonnes of diesel fuel to Gibraltar when she suffered engine failure at Table Bay. Strong westerly winds blew her from her anchorage shortly after midnight on 8 September 2009, driving her aground near Bloubergstrand, Cape TownThe 25-strong Turkish crew were rescued by the launch of Spirit of Rotary Blouberg from Station 18 and Spirit of Vodacom from Station 3 of the National Sea Rescue Institute.

The Seli 1 "sustained significant structural damage", but remained capable of being refloated. However, the indecision of the concerned parties led to delays in what initially should have been a simple salvage operation.[citation needed] The ship was extensively damaged by late winter storms, seriously jeopardising any plans to refloat it. SANCCOB reported that a total of 219 birds were oiled by a resulting spill.

Initial salvage operations focused on removal of 630,000 litres of oil from the ship. Removal of the hazardous fuel oil was contested by the salvage firms of Smit Amandla and Tsavliris, both of which claimed salvage contracts.[citation needed] Pumping the fuel took a few weeks during which period the weather remained calm, despite swells that enlarged substantial cracks in the main deck. The coal, which had been loaded in Durban, was eventually removed, eliminating virtually all risk of pollution. The ship's owners, despite abandoning the vessel, opposed selling the coal to defray removal costs.

The vessel was branded an eyesore and was clearly visible from tourist beaches and Table Mountain.
Surfing - A positive side effect of the wreck's position was the forming of straight sand banks that created waves enjoyed by the surfing community. Dolphin Beach had produced a boring wave geometry before the ship's stranding, but had now become a popular surf spot, well-populated on most days and had been the venue for a number of high-profile contests. Surfing the wreck involved a long and tricky paddle, and often the water was oily.

Fire - Seli 1 burning after savlors accidentally started a fire on the wreck

On 3 June 2010 the bridge and crew's quarters exploded and burnt, set on fire by the oxy-acetylene cutting torches of a team of 22 salvors from the South African Maritime Safety Authority working on the ship, and who had to be rescued by the launch Spirit of Vodacom. Officials of SAMSA said they would take no action as the situation "could be dangerous", and that it would be left to burn. The City of Cape Town's fire chief officer confirmed that the National Port Authority had been notified, and had declined to comment since it was outside normal office hours.

Removal - The piecemeal dismantling of the wreck was still under way in April 2011. A SAMSA spokesman stated they intended weakening the hull with explosives and that with the help of winter storms the vessel should be gone by the end of 2012.

On the night of Friday 31 August 2012 an oil slick was spotted on the coast, fouling nearby beaches and oiling hundreds of seabirds. It is suspected that rough seas caused the wreck to shift resulting in a kilometer-long oil slick that washed up on the beach. The Koeberg nuclear power station was placed on alert due to the proximity of the spill to its intake basin.

Department of Transport spokesman, Sam Monareng, announced a removal operation that would cost the taxpayer R40-million, the salvage contract going to SA Maritime Safety Authority, the same salvage group that had set fire to the ship on 3 June 2010. According to Monareng, the removal should be completed by the winter of 2013.

Link submitted by Jakes ZS1TP

Brenda the White Shark killed

The researchers of OCEARCH support work aboard the M/V OCEARCH, a unique 126' vessel equipped with a custom 55,000 hydraulic lift and research platform, which serves as both mothership and at-sea laboratory. This photograph shows the OCEARCH capture and release process. Photo: OCEARCH

MOSSEL BAY NEWS - A 3.6m female White Shark, tagged in Mossel Bay on 8 March this year by the non-profit group OCEARCH and a team of leading South African scientists, was captured and killed off the coast of Mozambique.

Caught in a gill net, the shark, given the name Brenda by the OCEARCH team, was harvested by village fishermen who gave the meat to the village and sold the fins.

Chris Fischer, along with the scientists who worked with OCEARCH to tag over 30 White Sharks off the coast of South Africa, are affected by the news.

Says Fischer, "We were all saddened to hear of the demise of Brenda, a magnificent female great white shark.
"OCEARCH waited on issuing a statement until the facts were clear. Those facts, and the recovery of the transmitter, were obtained thanks to the perseverance of a team assembled by Eyes on the Horizon, a local Mozambique NGO.

"While it is unfortunate that an animal protected in South Africa has been taken in Mozambique, her transmitter tag movements on the OCEARCH Global Shark Tracker (http://sharks-ocearch.verite.com) have opened the eyes of the public on how very real the threat is to shark populations around the world. A staggering number of sharks are harvested every year, the overwhelming majority of whose fate is neither tracked or revealed."

Ryan Johnson, Chief Scientist for the OCEARCH tagging expeditions, underscores the importance of regional cooperation: "Brenda's capture in Mozambique was a tragic illustration of a very real truth about Africa's large migratory sharks, that is, they do not respect national marine boundaries.

"For this region to effectively conserve sharks, we require strong and continued regional cooperation between nations."
Fischer is optimistic that sound policy can be enacted, understanding it will take cooperation between governments.

"Since we have this data point and we know that South Africa's Great White Sharks are migrating into areas that include Mozambique, a regional management plan needs to be developed.

Also, in terms of the significance of white shark related ecotourism, particularly shark cage diving in South African, it is important for the South African government to promote regional cooperation with regard to shark management."

ARTICLE: CHRIS BERGER, OCEARCH - George Herald

Pacific yachtsman thanks Boeing pilot, passengers for rescue

The 11-metre yacht "Streaker" which was de-masted in heavy weather, is seen from a police vessel after its captain, Glenn Ey, was rescued about 270 nautical miles east of Wollongong. Ey activated an emergency locator beacon (EPIRB) and was initially spotted by a passing Air Canada Boeing 777 enroute to Sydney from Vancouver, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority said.

Image by: HANDOUT / REUTERS

A rescued yachtsman thanked the pilots and passengers of a Sydney-bound commercial plane after they spotted his boat adrift on the Pacific Ocean.

Glenn Ey, 44, from Brisbane had been drifting for five days after his 11-metre yacht was hit by huge waves, snapping off the mast Friday.

Currents took him further out to sea and he was about 500 kilometres off Sydney when he ran out of fuel on Tuesday and set off his emergency beacon.

Search and rescue operators asked commercial airlines to keep a lookout for the yachtsman. An Air Canada flight from Vancouver diverted its approach to Sydney and reduced altitude to join the search.

The skipper of the Boeing 777, Captain Andrew Robertson, told reporters he dropped to 1,524 metres and reduced speed while crew and passengers scoured the waters below through binoculars. The plane’s first officer spotted the drifting boat and alerted rescue operators.

A Sydney police rescue boat reached the drifting yacht on Wednesday and brought Ey into Sydney early Thursday.

“A monstrous wave just came up and rolled the boat over. I went smashing into the roof,” Ey told Channel 7 News on his arrival in Sydney.

Ey thanked everyone on the passenger plane for diverting to spot him, enabling him to be rescued.

“I thought my number was up,” he said.

- Times Live

Waarskuwing: Danabaai-strande - Mosselbaai

DANABAAI NUUS - Vakansiegangers en inwoners word gemaan om die parkeerareas van die twee Danabaai-strande met groot omsigtigheid te betree.

Rowwe seetoestande het die duin nog meer weggekalwe en veral die sypaadjie en trappe is nou baie gevaarlik.

- Mosselbaai Advertiser

Satellites trace sea level change

A major reassessment of 18 years of satellite observations has provided a new, more detailed view of sea-level change around the world.

Incorporating the data from a number of spacecraft, the study re-affirms that ocean waters globally are rising by just over 3mm/yr.

But that figure, according to the reassessment, hides some very big regional differences - up and down.

The Philippine Sea, for example, has seen increases in excess of 10mm/yr.

Part of that signal reflects the great fluctuation in winds and sea-surface temperature across the Pacific Ocean known as the El Nino/La Nina-Southern Oscillation.

"The trend map is really a way of looking at average field changes over the 20 years," explained Steven Nerem of the University of Colorado, US.

"The places where you see high trends probably won't have high trends in another 20 years.

"A lot of this is decadal variability that will average out over the longer time series, which is why we need more missions to understand where this variability is."

Paolo Cipollini from the UK's National Oceanography Centre added: "Many of the features in the trend map indicate changes in heat storage and correspond to long-term variations in the ocean currents."

This is evident if you look for some of the well-established mass movements of water - such as the Gulf Stream arching across the North Atlantic from the eastern US, or the Kuroshio Extension reaching out from Japan into the Pacific.
Surface bounce

The map was unveiled in Venice, Italy, at a symposium marking "20 Years of Progress in Radar Altimetry".

The research will help scientists to tease out the scale of the various contributions to long-term sea-level rise and understand better the annual and inter-annual changes that can occur.

Currently, the most significant contributions are identified as being the expansion of the world's oceans due to their absorbing more heat, and the melt water coming from eroded glaciers and ice sheets.

A key quest is to identify to what extent sea-level rise may be accelerating and to pull out any long-term oscillations in ocean behaviour that could confuse that signal.

The study was completed as part of the Climate Change Initiative (CCI) agreed by European Space Agency (Esa) member states at their ministerial meeting in 2008.

The CCI seeks to deliver long-term observations on a large set of "essential climate variables" - sea-level change being one of the most important indicators of global change.

Measuring ocean surface shape from satellites has a relatively short history.

Routine observations began with Europe's ERS-1 spacecraft in 1991, and this has subsequently been followed up by a series of international missions.

The benchmark today is arguably Jason/Poseidon - a cooperative venture between the US and Europe (principally France).

Now in its third incarnation, the Jason satellite circles the globe making a topographic map of 95% of the Earth's ice-free oceans every 10 days.

To do this, it uses a radar altimeter, which constantly bounces microwave pulses off the sea surface.

By timing how long the signal takes to make the return trip, the instrument can determine sea-surface height.

But to get a full picture, Jason's data needs to be tied into that from satellites which view parts of the world it cannot see, and also mapped on to tide gauge information. Although these coastal stations cannot provide the same global view as space-borne instruments, they capture much longer trends. Some gauge stations have unbroken records going back more than 200 years.

The Jason satellite series is a benchmark for this field of study

Another important tool introduced recently is the gravity satellite - specifically, the two US Grace spacecraft. This duo can weigh the amount of ice held in Antarctica and Greenland, and the quantity of water stored on the continents. They have provided new insights into the scale of melting at the poles, and the impact of changes in precipitation that can move huge volumes of water from the ocean to the land.

Esa recently lost its flagship Earth observation satellite, Envisat, after 10 years of unbroken data-gathering.

The spacecraft and its altimeter stopped operating without warning in April, underlining the need for several instruments to be maintained in orbit at the same time.

A replacement altimeter should launch on the Sentinel-3 spacecraft at the end of 2014. A continuity satellite for the present Jason is also expected to go up within months of the Sentinel.

Other types of altimeter are being built, as well. In December this year, France and India should launch their Saral platform. This will carry a high frequency (Ka band) altimeter that should capture better the changes occurring very close to coastlines - detail which is beyond the reach of microwave observations.

"The key challenge in the coming years is to ensure we keep acquiring altimetry data, that we are able to calibrate it and that we can ensure its quality," said Maurice Borgeaud from Esa's Earth Observation Science, Applications and Future Technologies Department.

"Also, we need to tackle the new domains of radar altimetry. Coastal altimetry has been mentioned - also what you can do to measure water levels in rivers and lakes. Again, the old generation of radar altimeters were not designed to do this; the latest generation will be."

The modern tide gauge is now a highly sophisticated tool. Coastal instruments have recorded sea level change at some locations for more than 200 years

- BBC

WHALE DISENTANGLEMENT– MOSSEL BAY

Sunday, 16th September, 2012. Whale freed from entanglement of fishing nets, ropes and flotation buoys.

At 12h15 on Sunday 16th September, 2012 members of the SA Whale Disentanglement Network (SAWDN) and NSRI Mossel Bay were activated following reports from eye-witnesses of a whale entangled in fishing ropes off Suiderkruis near Mossel Bay and heading in the direction of Mossel Bay, approximately 1 nautical mile off-shore.
No small boats or rigid inflatable boats were immediately available so only the larger 9 meter NSRI sea rescue craft Vodacom Rescuer could be used in this operation.

Volunteers of the SA Whale Disentanglement Network, (in this case comprising only NSRI volunteers of the SA Whale Disentanglement Network) aboard the NSRI Mossel Bay sea rescue craft, launched and on arrival in the vicinity of the eye-witness reports a search commenced. The volunteers found an adult Southern Right whale with her albino calf between Hartenbos and Suiderkruis and the whale had a large amount of fishing nets, ropes and flotation buoys entangled around her tail fin.

Using the specialized cutting equipment the volunteers maneuvered the boat and after numerous attempts managed to cut the fishing nets, rope and flotation buoys free of the whale.

The fishing nets were recovered onto the NSRI sea rescue boat and brought to the NSRI Mossel Bay rescue base and are estimated to weigh approximately 100 kilograms.

A small flesh sample of the whale was collected from the net and will be handed to the Department of Environmental Affairs – Oceans and Coasts for scientific analysis.

No further action was necessary and the whale and her calf appear to have been in a healthy condition, barring a few minor scratches on the adult whale, as they swam off.

Pictures are available for media use on Sea Rescues Flickr page.

THE SA WHALE DISENTANGLEMENT NETWORK IS A SPECIALIZED NETWORK OF VOLUNTEERS SET-UP IN 2006 TO DEAL WITH THESE TYPES OF SITUATIONS AND COMPRISES VOLUNTEERS – FROM NSRI, THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS – OCEANS AND COAST, SA NATIONAL PARKS, CAPE NATURE, THE SA POLICE SERVICES, VARIOUS AQUARIUMS from around South Africa, THE NATAL SHARKS BOARD, BAYWORLD, VARIOUS OTHER ORGANISATIONS AND VOLUNTEERS, with the support of the Dolphin Action and Protection Group (DAPG).
SAWDN COVERS THE ENTIRE SA COASTLINE.

- SA Whale Disentanglement Network (SAWDN) Media Release

Sharks Board on 'whale alert'

The KZN Sharks Board is on alert for more whales that may beach or become tangled in shark nets in KZN in the coming months.

A dead four-and-a-half metre humpback whale washed up on 'Toti beach on Sunday. Two others were found dead last week; one was tangled in the nets, also off 'Toti beach, while the other washed up on a beach south of Scottburgh.

In a separate incident, Sharks Board officials freed a baby humpback from nets off 'Toti over the weekend.

Also over the weekend, a man was hospitalised after he fell on a boat that struck a whale about eight nautical miles south of Durban.

The Sharks Board's Mike Anderson-Reade says whale populations have increased significantly in recent decades and they are seeing a corresponding increase in the number of beached mammals.

He has also assured concerned residents that a southern right whale and her calf that were spotted off Oslo beach yesterday are not in danger.

He says beach-goers are actually witnessing the pair at play.

"Southern right whales will come very, very close to shore. We're just really fortunate to have these animals as close as we do have them in KZN at the moment. They'll probably be with us for another three months or so," he said.

- East Coast Radio

Update: Whale stranded at The Point in Mossel Bay. (1 August 2012)

Images: Adrian Cairns (Supplied by Jakes ZS1TP) Click on image for larger view.

The carcass of the stranded whale at The Point in Mossel Bay has been removed by authorities yesterday. (3 August 2012)

Residents and visitors are advised to avoid the coastal waters in the area of The Point in Mossel Bay due to the possible presence of sharks,  attracted by the carcass and bodily fluids of the dead whale.

Hazardous containers adrift near Port Elizabeth

The unidentified large cylindrical shaped object about 6m long and 2m in diameter that has washed up on the beach between the Kabeljous Beach and the Gamtoos River Mouth. (Rieghard van Rensburg, NSRI)

Port Elizabeth - A huge cylinder measuring 6m and with a diameter of 2m, has washed ashore near St Francis Bay and the maritime radio service is continuously broadcasting a shipping navigation warning about two similar containers reported to be adrift as well.

The NSRI's Craig Lambinon said the object, scratched and badly rusted, was in an area which wasn't easily accessible.

He said the NSRI would be taking officials from the SA Maritime Safety Authority to the scene for an inspection on Wednesday morning.

Earlier, Roland Williams of the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality said the incident was being treated as a marine safety issue.

He added, however, that people living along the coast should be made aware of the potential dangers.

Williams said the containers should, under no circumstances, be tampered with, because the contents are unknown.

He said should anyone see the missing containers or should they drift ashore, should immediately contact Port Control on 041 507 1911.

- News24

Amateur radio enthusiast enjoys waves of popularity on worldwide web for stricken yacht video

A North Lincolnshire amateur radio enthusiast who was surfing the air waves to Australia ended up helping a stricken sailor and his yacht which had been battered by waves of a different kind following a big storm in the Atlantic.

David Ogg, of Winteringham, was connected up to a fellow enthusiast in Melbourne, Australia when he then heard a "break station" alert off the coast of Spain, where a vessel had lost its mast and sails.

Fortunately, assistance came through amateur radio. And David, who is chairman of the Brigg and District Amateur Radio Society, recorded how things unfolded in a half-hour video.

He told the Radio Society of Great Britain: "It just goes to show in these modern times, when all else fails, there is amateur radio."

David told thisisscunthorpe.co.uk that the video had become "quite famous" among enthusiasts all round the world.

"It's a good promotion for amateur radio as a hobby, helping in emergencies," he added.

The troubled yachtsman off the coast of Spain - also a radio amateur and thought to be an American - "came on the side of us, talking," David added.

At the time the Winteringham enthusiast was using what is known as a "long path" connection to Australia - 24,000km right round the Earth.

The yachtsman's engine was functioning at the time David spoke to him.

With the storm gone, he was aiming to make about 260 miles into the nearest port in Spain.

"He wasn't giving SOS he was sinking," said Dave. "He was asking us for help."

The yachtsman suggested he would let Dave and his Australian contact know all was well once he made land.

"We don't know if he got there safely. We've not heard from him," said David.

However, had something gone wrong, given the video's popularity on the internet, it's pretty certain someone would have pointed it out by now.

"Maybe it's slipped his mind," David suggested.

- Scunthorpe

Mosselbaai Duin rede tot kommer

MOSSELBAAI NUUSFLITS - ‘n Duin wat weens erosie besig is om mee te gee aan die seekant in Bayview is volgens inwoners gevaarlik omdat dit teenaan die ablusieblokke is en daar gereeld kinders en volwassenes in die omgewing is.

Volgens die woordvoerder van die munisipaliteit, Mnr Harry Hill, behoort die herstelwerk teen einde November 2012 voltooi te wees.

- Mossel Bay Advertiser

Stygende seevlakke kan suidkus in Wes-Kaap swaar tref

KAAPSTAD.– Dit blyk die suidkus sal die swaarste in die Wes-Kaap getref word weens stygende seevlakke.

Die Wes-Kaapse departement van omgewingsake en ontwikkelingsbestuur het gister ’n voorlegging aan die provinsiale parlement se staande komitee oor landbou en omgewingsbestuur gedoen oor navorsing wat die konsultante Umvoto Africa oor stygende seevlakke gedoen het.

Dié studie het op die Weskus-, Overberg- en Eden-distriksmunisipaliteite gefokus. Kaapstad het sy eie studie onderneem.

Goosain Isaacs van die departement se eenheid vir klimaatsverandering en biodiversiteit het gesê tussen 1961 en 2003 het seevlakke wêreldwyd met 1,8mm per jaar gestyg, en sedert 2003 met sowat 3,4mm per jaar.

Klimaatsverandering en die gevolglike smelting van ys is hiervoor verantwoordelik.

Vorige studies het bevind aan die Weskus styg seevlakke jaarliks met 0,42mm, langs die Suid-Kaapse kus met 1,57mm en langs die ooskus met 3,55mm per jaar.

Voorts is gevind seevlakke kan teen 2100 met 2m gestyg het.

’n Verdere studie het bevind storms wat deur stygende seevlakke veroorsaak word, kan Kaapstad in die volgende 25 jaar R5miljard tot R25miljard kos.

Isaacs het egter gemaan dié inligting moet nie onnodige paniek veroorsaak nie.

Hy het gesê Umvoto Africa se studie dui daarop dat die suidkus die mees kwesbare deel van die provinsie is wat die impak van stygende seevlakke betref.

Volgens hom moet daar vir spesifieke gebiede studies gedoen word om te bepaal hoe dié gebiede geraak en wat die risiko’s daar sal wees.

Die studie beveel ook aan dat buffersones onmiddellik gebruik moet word en dat kusontwikkelings nie nader as ’n sekere afstand van die see goedgekeur moet word nie.

- Die Burger

A Measure of Salt

Salinity—the amount of dissolved salt in the water—is critical to so many aspects of the ocean, from circulation to climate to the global water cycle. For much of the past year, NASA and Argentina’s Comisión Nacional de Actividades Espaciales (CONAE) have been making comprehensive observations of sea surface salinity from space. Launched on June 10, 2011, the Aquarius mission is slowly compiling a more complete picture of the salty sea and how it varies.
The map above shows salinity near the ocean surface as measured by the Aquarius instrument on the Satélite de Aplicaciones Científicas (SAC)-D satellite. The data depicted shows average salinity from May 27 to June 2, 2012, in a range from 30 to 40 grams per kilogram, with 35 grams being the average. Lower values are represented in purples and blues; higher values are shown in shades of orange and red. Black areas occur where no data was available, either due to the orbit of the satellite or because the ocean was covered by ice, which Aquarius cannot see through.
Click on the animation below the main image to see salinity patterns changing week by week over the past year. A few features stand out. As oceanographers have known for many years—but now can “see”—the Atlantic Ocean is saltier than the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Rivers such as the Amazon carry tremendous amounts of fresh runoff from land and spread plumes far into the sea. And in the tropics—particularly near the Pacific’s Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone—extra rainfall makes equatorial waters somewhat fresher.
Near most coastlines and inland seas in the map, waters appear much fresher or saltier than in open-ocean locations. Look, for instance, at the Red Sea and the Mediterranean for saltier waters; significantly fresher waters appear in the Black Sea, in the icy high latitudes, and around the many islands and peninsulas of Southeast Asia. Indeed, runoff from rivers and melting ice does make water fresher, and strong evaporation and other processes do make the Red and Mediterranean Seas saltier. But mostly those extreme salinity measurements around the coastlines are a distortion of the satellite signal.
Technically, Aquarius measures the emissivity or “brightness temperature” of the surface waters, notes Gary Lagerloef, Aquarius principal investigator, based at Earth and Space Research in Seattle. Land masses have a higher emissivity than the ocean, so any measurement close to land tends to be skewed by its brightness. Over time, the Aquarius research team should be able to calibrate the measurements and develop mathematical tools to better distinguish the salt signal. But for now, the measurements are so new that the team is still working on the big picture of ocean salinity.
Aquarius is the first NASA instrument specifically designed to study surface ocean salinity from space, and it does so at a rate of 300,000 measurements per month. It uses three passive microwave sensors, called radiometers, to record the thermal signal from the oceans' top 10 millimeters (about 0.4 inches).
“An overarching question in climate research is to understand how changes in the Earth’s water cycle—meaning rainfall and evaporation, river discharges and so forth—ocean circulation, and climate link together,” said Lagerloef. Most global precipitation and evaporation events take place over the ocean and are very difficult to measure. But rainfall freshens the ocean’s surface waters, and Aquarius can detect these changes in saltiness. “Salinity is the variable we can use to measure that coupling. It’s a critical factor, and it will eventually be used to improve climate forecasts.”

1. Related Resources

2. Comisión Nacional de Actividades Espaciales (CONAE) (n.d.) Aquarius / SAC-D. Accessed June 11, 2012.
3. NASA (n.d.) Aquarius / SAC-D. Accessed June 11, 2012.
4. NASA (n.d.) Salinity Basics. Accessed June 11, 2012.

NASA images by Norman Kuring, Goddard Space Flight Center. Animation by Robert Simmon. Caption by Mike Carlowicz, Earth Observatory, with reporting from Maria-Jose Vinas, NASA Earth Science News Team.

Instrument: 

Aquarius

Bad weather saves East Cape coast from oil slick

THE bad weather at the weekend has spared the Eastern Cape coastline from a potentially damaging oil slick from a container ship heading around the coast of South Africa to Lagos, in Nigeria.

The vessel, identified as the Conti Hong Kong by South African authorities, is en route from Colombo, in Sri Lanka.

The Conti Hong Kong’s owner and its insurers have been fined R150000 by South African maritime authorities over the oil slick.

It was spotted on Thursday by a South African coastguard aircraft which photographed the container ship trailing a long oil slick off the Eastern Cape coast.

Maritime authorities said yesterday the high winds and turbulent seas at the weekend had, fortunately, dispersed the slick out at sea.

This followed concerns that South Africa lacked protection from major environmental disasters such as oil slicks from international vessels, with the Transport Department yet to finalise access to the International Oil Pollution Fund, which would save taxpayers a fortune in the event of oil pollution.

SA Maritime Safety Authority (Samsa) spokesman Captain Peter Kroon said the oil had been dispersed by the winds which lashed the province at the weekend.

"The ship passed East London on its way to Lagos on Thursday and did not stop anywhere in South Africa.

"By Friday, the oil spillage had been dispersed into the sea by the strong winds and rough seas. The spillage did not cause any damage to the Eastern Cape’s beaches,” he said.

Kroon said Samsa did not know yet how much oil had been pumped out of the ship.

The vessel was spotted by the coastguard aircraft "discharging oil from its bilges” 14 nautical miles off Hamburg, south of East London, on Thursday.

Last month, two separate incidents almost caused an oil slick near Cape Town. One involved a fishing trawler and the other a 250m bulk carrier with 80000 tons of iron ore, which is still anchored in False Bay.

- PE Herald