Vessel with reactive chemical cargo finally cleared of its load, while a brobe continues into the cause: SAMSA

Pretoria: 05 April 2022

It may not be until after another 12 months before authorities get to know the real cause of the problematic chemical cargo South Africa has had to grapple with daily since arrival of the Marshall Islands registered cargo vessel bearing it, the NS Qingdao, initially in Durban, some six months ago.

Crucially though, according to the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) in a statement in Pretoria last Thursday, ridding the vessel of the reactive chemical cargo has finally, successfuly been achieved and disposed of.

In the statement announcing the important milestone, SAMSA said: “The NS Qingdao has now completed the discharge of waste chemical cargo from hold No. 3 in Saldanha Bay, which brings to an end a salvage operation that started in October 2021.

“Waste cargo from the vessel’s hold No.3 was discharged in almost 1,000 skips and was responsibly disposed of at Vissershok High Hazardous Waste Management Site. Potentially contaminated ballast water pumped into ISO tanks was disposed of at the same site. During the discharge operation in the port of Saldanha Bay, no cargo residue entered the water,” said SAMSA.

Authorities also continued to keep a watchful eye in the surrounding ocean areas, without evidence to date that marine life and the environment were affected, said SAMSA.

“To date no threats to the marine life or environment related to the emergency disposal of cargo approximately 250 km offshore have been noted. Environmental Monitoring in accordance with the agreed EMP by the P&I Club’s appointed environmental specialists, in collaboration with DFFE, which includes amongst others satellite imaging of the area will continue,” said SAMSA

The agency further confirmed that an investigation into the cause of the chemical cargo’s instability and related matters would continue, involving a collaborative approach between vessel’s flag state, Marshall Islands and South African authorities, with the vessel remaining in detention pending proof of its seaworthiness.

Said SAMSA: “The vessel remains detained, subject to further inspections and repairs as required and will not be put to sea unless her seaworthiness can be confirmed. The South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) and the Department of Forestry Fisheries and the Environment (DEFF) have reached agreement with the vessel’s owners and P&I Club to implement a medium to long term environmental monitoring program (EMP). The program will deal not only with any immediate impact but also monitor and mitigate any future impacts.

“The vessel’s Marshall Islands Flag State appointed Investigation Team is still investigating the root cause, with SAMSA sharing any available information. A final report which will be shared with SAMSA is expected to take approximately 12 months to complete.

“Again, SAMSA wishes to thank local and international members of a multi-disciplinary team who contributed to the containing and bringing of this emergency situation under control. The vessel owner should also be thanked for their continued cooperation with South African Authorities.”

End

Two to three more weeks to clear problematic chemical cargo off vessel in South Africa’s west coast: SAMSA

*_{The NS Qingdao pictured after anchoring at the port of Saldanha on the Atlantic Ocean seaboard a few weeks ago. (Photo: Supplied)}*

Pretoria: 07 March 2022

It may be another two to three more weeks before troublesome chemical cargo is fully offloaded from the NS Qingdao vessel, currently docked at the port of Saldanha on South Africa west coast, said the South African Maritime Safety Authority late Friday.

This would be about six months since the Marshal Islands registered commercial cargo vessel first set anchor at the country’s ports only to prove a major headache after its cargo of a chemical product reacted to rain water at its first attempt to offload in Durban last October, thereby setting in motion one of the most intense, delicate and time consuming unstable cargo containment exercises ever undertaken by authorities in recent times.

In a statement on Friday afternoon, SAMSA confirmed the vessel was still at anchor in Saldanha Bay for the continued discharge of its waste cargo.

“The vessel will be alongside a berth again on or about Sunday 6^th March to continue operations. Operations are proceeding in a safe and well-coordinated manner and good progress has been made,” said SAMSA

The agency added that: “As of the 1^stof March 2022, approximately half of the cargo in cargo hold No.3 had been discharged and disposed at Vissershok High Hazardous Waste Management Site. Wastewater will also be pumped into tanks and sent for disposal at the same waste management site.

“It is anticipated that once the vessel is alongside a berth that it would take approximate 2 to 3 weeks to discharge the remaining waste cargo from the ship and dispose it at Vissershok. The vessel will then be inspected by SAMSA and its classification society to ensure she is safe to continue her voyage to Brazil to discharge remaining cargo onboard.

According to SAMSA, the agency and the Department of Fisheries, Forestry and Environment (DFFE) have reached agreement with the vessel’s owners and P&I Club “to implement a medium to long term environmental monitoring program so that any potential immediate and future impacts can be assessed and mitigated.

“The P&I Club’s appointed environmental specialists in collaboration with DFFE are continuously monitoring the coast and sea area to determine any threats to the marine environment resulting from the emergency disposal of cargo dumped approximately 250 km offshore. To date, satellite imaging shows no immediate indications of harmful effects to the receiving environment or marine life.

“The Marshall Islands Flag State Investigation team have (also) started their investigation and it is expected to continue over the next few months until the root cause can be established. As part of the co-operation agreement, SAMSA is sharing the available information with the vessels flag. It is expected that the detailed investigation will take an estimated 12 months to complete and that the final report will be shared with SAMSA,”said SAMSA

The agency also expressed its gratitude to all people it has worked closely with to date in managing the vessel.

“SAMSA would like to thank the salvage team onboard, who at great peril to themselves, said SAMSA, “risked everything to successfully bring this emergency situation under control where normal cargo operations could continue. The support from all the person involved in managing this emergency since it started in Durban in October 2021 has been very good, despite the difficult choices that had to be made over the last 6 months by the Authorities.

“The vessel owner continues to co-operate with all authorities and have covered all expenses to date regarding this salvage operation,” said SAMSA.

End

Salvage of vessel with unstable chemical cargo off South Africa’s west coast reaches final stage: SAMSA

Pretoria: 28 January 2022

The salvage of a vessel with unstable chemical cargo, the bulk carrier NS Qingdao; off South Africa’s west coast, is reaching a critical final stage, according to the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA)

This is contained in a statement issued by SAMSA in Pretora on Friday morning. In the statement the agency says the volatility of the chemical cargo – inclusive of an out of control fire in a cargo hold – is being successfully contained so far, this following the off-loading and dumping of some of the cargo at sea recently.

As a result, the 190×32 meters, Marshall Islands flagged bulk carrier is being brought into the port of Saldanha Bay for further offloading and final disposal of the rest of the cargo at an inland hazardous waste management site located at Visserhok.

According to a Western Cape government website, the site is “one of three operational (Cape Town) landfill sites… located close to Table View and exists for the disposal of general and low to medium hazardous waste which cannot be reused or recycled.”

In Pretoria on Friday, SAMSA said due to this latest development, “the emergency (of the cargo vessel situation) has now been downscaled from a ‘severe maritime emergency’ to a salvage operation that can be safely managed in port.”

According to SAMSA, the bulk carrier, is drifting currently off the port of Saldanha Bay, waiting for a berth.

Said SAMSA in the statement: “The bulk carrier, NS Qingdao, will be brought into the port of Saldanha Bay after the chemical decomposition and fire in cargo hold No.3 was brought under control. The emergency has now been downscaled from a Severe Maritime Emergency to a salvage operation that can be safely managed in port. The vessel is drifting off the port of Saldanha Bay, waiting for a berth.

“This decision was taken by the competent authorities after DFFE and SAMSA representatives conducted a vessel inspection offshore to determine whether it was safe to do so and reviewing reports from the chemical and fire specialists onboard.

“Transnet National Port Authority will provide a berth for the vessel and is comfortable that it safe for the vessel to enter the port.”

“The Joint Operations Committee (JOC) comprises of National, Provincial government officials and includes local municipal representatives. The JOC members have been actively involved in managing this maritime emergency since the vessel was evacuated from the port of Durban.

“Salvage experts have been working around the clock to contain and extinguish the fire onboard the vessel for the past three (3) months. Attempts to extinguish the fire by discharging the reactive cargo via skips offshore and dispose of the cargo at the High Hazardous Vissershok waste management site was hampered by the location of the affected cargo within the cargo hold.

“The vessel was escorted offshore by an Emergency Towing Vessel in early December after the fire unexpectedly re-ignited, causing a large volume of toxic fumes to be released and enter the engine room resulting in the evacuation of the engine room.

“Due to the fast deteriorating conditions onboard and to save the ship and people onboard, the JOC decided to conduct an emergency dump of the absolute bare minimum of reactive cargo 250km offshore in 3000m of water in order to bring the situation under control as fast as possible.

“The DFFE issued an emergency permit as prescribed by Chapter 8, Section 71 (1) (a), of the National Environmental Management: Integrated Coastal Management Act, 2008 (Act No. 24 of 2008) and the Dumping at Sea Regulations, after consulting with the Oceans and Coasts research branch, Group of Experts on the Scientific Aspects of Marine Environmental Protection (GESAMP) and International Maritime Organisation (IMO).

“GESAMP is a group of independent scientific experts that provides advice to the UN system on scientific aspects of marine environmental protection and consists out of up to 20 experts, over 500 scientists from at least 50 countries. This organisation provides authoritative, independent, interdisciplinary scientific advice to organisations and governments to support the protection and sustainable use of the marine environment.

“The GESAMP mechanism functions under the auspices of ten UN Organizations, all with substantial maritime and ocean interests and potentially overlapping responsibilities.

“Approximately 1300T of cargo was dumped offshore which enabled the situation to be brought back under control. The JOC can confirm that the operation was monitored through onboard drones and DFFE satellite imaging and can confirm that no immediate environmental damage was observed.

“The hot cargo cooled rapidly and dissolved very quickly in the ocean. Although no immediate environmental damage was noticed, SAMSA and the DFFE are in discussions with the vessel owner and insurers to arrange a medium to long term environmental monitoring program so that any potential future outfall can be managed responsibly as fast as possible.

“The vessel was anchored off St. Helena Bay for the last two (2) weeks to allow the authorities to monitor the cargo and establish whether it was safe to enter port.

“The affected portion of the chemical cargo will be discharged in port by the Salvors and chemical waste specialists. The chemical waste will be taken to the approved High Hazardous Waste Management site at Vissershok until such time that it is safe for stevedores to manage the cargo discharge operation.

“As an interested state, SAMSA concluded an investigation cooperation agreement with the Marshall Islands Maritime Authorities. The cause of the incident is still under investigation and a chemical analysis of the cargo will be completed while the vessel is in port to determine the underlying casual factors for the fire and whether the vessel had any undeclared cargo in the hold.

“The vessel owner, master and P&I Club is cooperating with the Authorities, ” read the SAMSA statement.

End.