28 June 2009
The last tank container of toxic chemicals at sea near Hout Bay has been towed to safety by Svitzer salvage.
The salvage company, which was appointed by Safmarine to find and recover the containers lost at sea after they fell off a container ship this week, was also notified about a general purpose container 11 nautical miles off Green Point, but couldn't find it on Saturday.
Safmarine spokesperson Debbie Owen said they would continue searching on Sunday for that one and the other 16 containers that were still unaccounted for. She said all three of the containers that had washed up on Camps Bay and Sea Point beaches had been cleared.
Three of the containers belonging to Sasol had contained the toxic chemical cresol. Owen said a navigation warning had been issued to all vessels along the South African coast after the containers were washed off Safmarine Meru on Tuesday.
A helicopter and fishing vessels were still combing the waters to locate the remaining containers, which all contained non-hazardous cargo, she added. Owen said a meteorologist was helping to predict the possible drift direction of the remaining containers.
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