Seli 1 wreck reduction well underway

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Pretoria - The City of Cape Town says progress has been made on the Turkish vessel Seli 1 wreck reduction efforts.

The City says today’s focus will be on weakening the bow that keeps the wreck intact.

“Significant progress has been made to weaken the vessel and the focus of the Operational Diving Team (ODT) will now be on the containment area where the oil tanks are located.”

Part of their plan, according to the city, is to mitigate further altering of the coastline by means of erosion and eliminating further oil spills

“The established Joint Task Team has put in place contingency measures to deal with potential oil spills and contamination of marine life,” assured the city.

In September 2009, the ship experienced engine problems and sought refuge in Table Bay. Reduced engine power and stormy weather caused the vessel to run aground off Table View beach.

It has been blown up as part of a plan to get rid of the unsightly debris at a Cape Town beach, with its remaining debris to be cut into smaller pieces.

The general public has been reminded that the entire beach and dune area opposite the wreck is closed to the public and demarcated parking areas are off-limits as well as recreational activities.

The airspace surrounding the wreck is also prohibited and no aircraft is allowed to operate within this space. - SAnews.gov.za