The process of removing pollutants from the fishing vessel that ran aground in St Francis Bay has begun this morning, January 10.
According to spokesperson for South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA), Tebogo Ramatjie, the fishing vessel, the ELKE M ran aground on January 6, at approximately 22:30, 1 mile from Port St Francis.
He said that the vessel had 24 crew and they were all brought to safety after they abandoned ship.
Ramatjie said that a helicopter, dispatched from Cape Town has joined the salvage tug, Umkhuseli and support personnel on the scene.
“Deployment of equipment to the vessel to commence the process of removing the pollutants is a priority with the initial focus being the 35 tonnes of diesel on board,” said Ramatjie.
He further said that due to inclement weather in the area over the past two days, operations could only begin today, January 10.
“SAMSA will continue monitoring the process and has also activated the Incident Management Structure (IMS) which includes owners, the insurers (P&I Club), municipality officials, the NSRI, salvors, environmental management organisations and other relevant parties,” said Ramatjie.
