Pretoria - The Department of Environmental Affairs has approved the emergency request from the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) and the salvage team working on the stricken MV Smart vessel to dump 10 000 tons of coal from the vessel into the sea as an interim measure.
About 50 000 tons of coal spilt into the ocean soon after the vessel ran aground. MV Smart, a bulk carrier that ran aground in Richards Bay last month, has split in two, making it almost impossible to carry out other alternative dumping solutions.
The department said the approval of the emergency dumping of coal came after extensive consultation between the department, SAMSA, the salvage team, uMhlatuze Municipality, Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife and the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Agriculture, Environmental Affairs and Rural Development.
“Although there are important estuaries such as the uMfolozi, uMlalazi and the uMlathuze Sanctuary near the area where the vessel ran aground, the area directly around the vessel is not a biological diversity hot spot.
“It is, however, an industrial area, which is dredged annually. Nonetheless, the department will do all it takes to ensure that these neighbouring estuaries are not affected by the salvage operation,” said the department.
The department said given the circumstances under which the salvage operation was taking place, and in consideration of the reasons provided by SAMSA, dumping the coal in the sea was a viable solution.
However, it said the dumping process had to comply with the prescripts of the Integrated Coastal Management (IMC) Act and London Convention Protocol on Marine Environment Protection.
“As dictated by the IMC Act and London Convention and Protocol, disposal at sea under an emergency permit would need to be conducted in a manner that minimises the impact on the marine environment. To this end, the department will, in collaboration with other local environmental authorities, continue to monitor the salvage process to ensure that the marine environment is not compromised,” the department said. – SAnews.gov.za
