Smit Salvage personnel shifted the focus of operations on the grounded Jolly Rubino on Tuesday to fuel removal after discovering in the morning that a port (left) side crack had worsened substantially during the night.
”In addition, this afternoon a new crack was discovered on the starboard (right) side of the casualty (ship) from which oil is seen to be emanating,” the company said in a statement issued at a 4pm media conference.
The fuel removal operation would entail a ship-to-ship transfer with the balance of the fuel in the Jolly Rubino’s starboard tanks and her engine room being pumped to storage tanks aboard a receiving vessel.
”A massive mobilisation of the equipment needed for this operation from Smit Salvage equipment warehouses in Rotterdam and Cape Town began this morning and over the next 36 hours the necessary pumps, hoses, mooring systems, generators and other specialised equipment are expected to arrive on site,” Smit said.
In the interim, salvage personnel onboard the Jolly Rubino would prepare for transfer by continuing efforts to pump water from the engine room.
”They will also be closely monitoring the condition of the vessel and the extent of the cracks in the starboard and port side of the casualty,” the company said.
”With respect to the cargo onboard the vessel, the substance about which there is the most concern is phenol, which was stored on deck in containers. A few heavily damaged containers thought to contain hazardous cargo are still on deck. At a later stage, once the fire is under control, these containers will be fully inspected by chemical experts and salvage personnel,” the company added.
Phenol is a chemical substance found in resins and household appliances. It known to cause muscle weakness and tremors, loss of co-ordination, paralysis, convulsions, coma and respiratory arrest.
”Daily air (pollution) readings would indicate that there is no threat to salvage personnel working on board the Jolly Rubino or to the environment. This situation is being monitored daily.
A towline from the ship to the tug ”Wolraad Woltemade” remained connected.
The company added that the pollution patrol aircraft ”Kuswag VII” flew a patrol earlier in the afternoon and reported oil emanating from the crack on the starboard side of the vessel.
”The visible pollution runs parallel to the coast in a south-westerly direction until about 600m south west of the casualty. It then heads directly out to sea in a southerly direction and at five miles (9km) out breaks up into sheen.”
The Jolly Rubino’s crew abandoned ship late last Tuesday after failing to extinguish an onboard fire. The fire spread throughout the vessel causing extensive damage and last Thursday afternoon the vessel ran aground about 2km north east of the Cape St Lucia lighthouse at a distance of 300 metres from the shore.
The Jolly Rubino is an Italian flagged RO-RO (Roll-on, Roll-off) vessel with a dead weight tonnage of
31 262.
Speaking to Sapa after the conference, Deputy Environmental Affairs and Tourism Minister Rejoice Mabudafhas said she was satisfied the salvors were doing all they could to save the situation.
Mabudafhas on Tuesday flew over the ship and also inspected measures taken by environmental and disaster relief officials to limit the pollution of the nearby ecologically sensitive Umfolozi River mouth as well as the Greater St Lucia Wetlands World Heritage Site.
”They are doing their best,” she said of Smit.
She was also full of praise for the ship’s owners, Messina Lines.
”The owners of the ship are taking responsibility and are underwriting the costs (of the salvage and clean-up). I really appreciate what the company is doing as we did not have to ask them.”
Mabudafhas said the applicable principle was that the polluter paid but what was commendable in this case was that they did so proactively. – Sapa