The City of Cape Town has finally issued an official statement on how it once and for all plans to deal with the broken up Seli 1 wreck on Blouberg beach. But it’s not up to them – it’s now up to the National Treasury to issue the funding for the operation.

The City of Cape Town has come out and defended itself for not dealing with the wreck of the Seli 1 in Blouberg sooner. It said in a statement that it had “repeatedly engaged with the Department of Transport and the Department of Environmental Affairs with a view to finding a permanent resolution” for removing the wreck for good. But it appears the two departments failed to meet and engage with the City and relevant stakeholders in February, which may have prevented the latest oil spill from occurring. After all, it’s not rocket science that the Cape gets battered by huge seas and powerful winds in winter.

The City was however adamant that some progress will now be made as a direct result from the continuous engagement and pressure it had been putting on the departments. It said the National Department of Transport had eventually submitted a request to the National Treasury to seek funding to salvage the wreck.

Said Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, JP Smith:

It is unfortunate that these parties did not engage with the City sooner when we requested them to attend a meeting with other relevant stakeholders in early February of this year; and that the issue of the necessary funding for the salvage operation is taking so long to settle. The proactive salvage effort that was suggested by the City and Samsa at that stage would almost certainly have prevented the oil spill that occurred over the weekend.

The estimated cost to remove the vessel stood at R40 million, although this was based on calculations done last year.

Continued Smith:

We eagerly await a response to the request from the National Department of Transport by the National Treasury on the availability of the funding, which will allow us to consider our options thereafter. We must ensure the removal of the wreck as soon as possible to reduce further oil risk, the erosion of the coastline adjacent to the wreck and the visual and environmental impact.

The City hoped the wreck would be removed as soon as possible:

The matter will serve before Cabinet during September 2012 and approval is now being awaited. The City is currently ascertaining from the Department of Transport what progress has been made since the last engagement in respect of investigating options for the wreck reduction.

The City’s position remains that the wreck must be removed in the interests of public safety and the environment. Over 54 endangered African penguins were contaminated by oil as a result of the weekend’s oil spill. Sanccob has advised the City that the birds are currently undergoing intensive rehabilitation before they can be released back into the wild.

The on-going pollution from the vessel is a major concern for Sanccob given that the Table Bay area is one of the main feeding grounds for the African penguin and other seabirds breeding on Robben Island, Dassen Island and the West Coast.

Maybe we’ll finally see less talk, and more action now. Especially given the fact that the wreck has been there since 2009, and that this was the fourth oil spill from it.

[Source: City Of Cape Town]