Navigating through stormy seas the Safmarine Meru, en route to Cape Town from Port Elizabeth lost 21 containers as it was battered by 100km/h winds and swells higher than 12 m.

Safmarine has appointed Svitzer Salvage to locate and recover the lost containers.

Three of the containers were tanks containing the hazardous chemical cresylic acid.   Two have been washed ashore – one at Camps Bay and the other at Sea Point.

Contact with the chemical Cresol can cause burns, blisters, scarring and in the worst case, death.  The public has been warned to keep well away from the vicinity of the containers.

Hazardous material experts dressed in silver suits and gas masks have been attending to the containers which have washed ashore while the remainder of the 21 containers pose a grave danger to sailing vessels.

A container will submerge itself just under the water, and if hit by a small vessel there could be catastrophic consequences.

A large vessel could also be seriously damaged if it were to collide with the submerged container.

Maritime lawyers have said that a major oil spill at this time could “cripple” South Africa due to damage costs as the Department of Transport has not promulgated legislation needed to be able to access international funding to pay for oil spill damages and clean-ups.

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