A new Algoa Bay eco-watchdog has highlighted the huge volume of bunkering fuel moving across the bay on a daily basis, raising the risk of a big spills or multiple small spills that could decimate the endangered African penguin population.
With government earlier this week announcing a draft plan to rescue the species from extinction, Algoa Bay Conservation on Thursday urged the public to raise this concern and call for the industry to be suspended.
“We have the largest breeding colony of African penguins in the world on St Croix Island and the immediate suspension of barge-to-ship bunkering in Algoa Bay, thereby reducing the threat of oil spills, will go a long way towards halting the decline of the species,” Algoa Bay Conservation co-founder and environmental chemist, Ronelle Friend, said.
The SA Maritime Safety Authority (Samsa) said on Thursday that the organisation’s approach of calculating the potential danger by adding up the total volume of fuel being carried on the bunkering mother-ship and barges was flawed as it was based on the possibility all this fuel could end up in the water.
However, Friend said the information was important to gauge the magnitude of the issue.
According to information made available by one of the three bunkering operators, their mother vessel had a capacity of 96,682 metric tons and their two transferring barges had capacities of 6,200 and 5,200 metric tons respectively, she said.
“This means that each operator can float more than 100,000 metric tons of heavy fuel oil on our bay at any time.
“As there are three operators we can assume that a total of roughly 300,000 metric tons or three-million litres is floating on Algoa Bay at any time.”
Quoting the Businesstech site, she said a land-based fuel station in SA dispensed an average of 300,000 litres of fuel a month.
“Therefore, the fuel being stored by the three barge to ship bunkering operators in Algoa Bay could be equivalent to the fuel that a South African fuel station will dispense in 82 years, or the fuel that 990 fuel stations will dispense in one month.
“This excludes the fuel carried by the other vessels anchored here daily.
“It adds up to a frightening amount of fuel floating on the surface of our bay.”
Friend said heavy fuel oil (HFO) was the tar-like substance which remained after the distillation of crude oil to produce lighter hydrocarbon products such as petrol.
“Because it is a residual material, it is contaminated with impurities and HFO is classed as an aquatic polluter.
“It is very slow to biodegrade and due to the toxins in it, even at low concentration it will kill species of fish and algae.
“It will also accumulate in the marine ecosystem.
“HFO has therefore been classified by the Globally Harmonised System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals as ‘extremely toxic to aquatic environment with long-lasting effects’.”
There have been two small spills since barge-to-ship bunkering began in Algoa Bay in April 2016.
About 500l of heavy fuel oil spilt into the sea during these two incidents, but, though they were small spills, about 300 penguins were oiled, according to figures supplied by seabird rehabilitation groups.
Sobantu Tilayi, acting CEO of Samsa, which has licensed the three bunkering companies operating in the bay — Aegean, South African Marine Fuels and Colt — said on Thursday that Algoa Bay Conservation’s argument was flawed.
“You can’t arrive at the potential danger by just adding the amount of fuel on the ships and assuming that there is a possibility that all this fuel could end up in the water.
“The correct way to calculate how much fuel could be spilt is to gauge the volumes in the [transfer] hoses.
“It is unacceptable to have even one drop of oil in the water.
“It is for this reason that we keep reviewing the standard operating procedures for the operators in order to ensure gradually eliminating any possibility of a spill.”
Asked what the average volume in the transfer hoses was, Tilayi said he did not want to engage further on the matter.
Unveiling the Draft Biodiversity Management Plan for the African Penguin last week, environment minister Barbara Creecy said it could be accessed via the department’s website at www.environment.gov.za and anyone wishing to comment should do so by November 18.
Letters may be posted to the Deputy Director-General, Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries, Branch: Oceans and Coasts, Private Bag X4390, Cape Town 8000, or e-mailed to marinespecies@environment.gov.za
Fuel threat to penguins
Image: MARK ANDREWS
A new Algoa Bay eco-watchdog has highlighted the huge volume of bunkering fuel moving across the bay on a daily basis, raising the risk of a big spills or multiple small spills that could decimate the endangered African penguin population.
With government earlier this week announcing a draft plan to rescue the species from extinction, Algoa Bay Conservation on Thursday urged the public to raise this concern and call for the industry to be suspended.
“We have the largest breeding colony of African penguins in the world on St Croix Island and the immediate suspension of barge-to-ship bunkering in Algoa Bay, thereby reducing the threat of oil spills, will go a long way towards halting the decline of the species,” Algoa Bay Conservation co-founder and environmental chemist, Ronelle Friend, said.
The SA Maritime Safety Authority (Samsa) said on Thursday that the organisation’s approach of calculating the potential danger by adding up the total volume of fuel being carried on the bunkering mother-ship and barges was flawed as it was based on the possibility all this fuel could end up in the water.
However, Friend said the information was important to gauge the magnitude of the issue.
According to information made available by one of the three bunkering operators, their mother vessel had a capacity of 96,682 metric tons and their two transferring barges had capacities of 6,200 and 5,200 metric tons respectively, she said.
“This means that each operator can float more than 100,000 metric tons of heavy fuel oil on our bay at any time.
“As there are three operators we can assume that a total of roughly 300,000 metric tons or three-million litres is floating on Algoa Bay at any time.”
Quoting the Businesstech site, she said a land-based fuel station in SA dispensed an average of 300,000 litres of fuel a month.
“Therefore, the fuel being stored by the three barge to ship bunkering operators in Algoa Bay could be equivalent to the fuel that a South African fuel station will dispense in 82 years, or the fuel that 990 fuel stations will dispense in one month.
“This excludes the fuel carried by the other vessels anchored here daily.
“It adds up to a frightening amount of fuel floating on the surface of our bay.”
Friend said heavy fuel oil (HFO) was the tar-like substance which remained after the distillation of crude oil to produce lighter hydrocarbon products such as petrol.
“Because it is a residual material, it is contaminated with impurities and HFO is classed as an aquatic polluter.
“It is very slow to biodegrade and due to the toxins in it, even at low concentration it will kill species of fish and algae.
“It will also accumulate in the marine ecosystem.
“HFO has therefore been classified by the Globally Harmonised System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals as ‘extremely toxic to aquatic environment with long-lasting effects’.”
There have been two small spills since barge-to-ship bunkering began in Algoa Bay in April 2016.
About 500l of heavy fuel oil spilt into the sea during these two incidents, but, though they were small spills, about 300 penguins were oiled, according to figures supplied by seabird rehabilitation groups.
Sobantu Tilayi, acting CEO of Samsa, which has licensed the three bunkering companies operating in the bay — Aegean, South African Marine Fuels and Colt — said on Thursday that Algoa Bay Conservation’s argument was flawed.
“You can’t arrive at the potential danger by just adding the amount of fuel on the ships and assuming that there is a possibility that all this fuel could end up in the water.
“The correct way to calculate how much fuel could be spilt is to gauge the volumes in the [transfer] hoses.
“It is unacceptable to have even one drop of oil in the water.
“It is for this reason that we keep reviewing the standard operating procedures for the operators in order to ensure gradually eliminating any possibility of a spill.”
Asked what the average volume in the transfer hoses was, Tilayi said he did not want to engage further on the matter.
Unveiling the Draft Biodiversity Management Plan for the African Penguin last week, environment minister Barbara Creecy said it could be accessed via the department’s website at www.environment.gov.za and anyone wishing to comment should do so by November 18.
Letters may be posted to the Deputy Director-General, Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries, Branch: Oceans and Coasts, Private Bag X4390, Cape Town 8000, or e-mailed to marinespecies@environment.gov.za
Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Latest Videos
Most Read
News
News
News
News
News