MSC APOLLO

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Container ship released after oil spill investigation

The South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) has confirmed the official release of the 'MSC Apollo', whichhad been anchored in Algoa Bay for a month following the oil spill which has since been contained. The ship has been allowed to depart from Algoa Bay anchorage on Sep 26 after the investigation was completed by the vessel’s owners in conjunction with the Classification Society and endorsed by the vessel’s Flag State, which resulted in one of the overboard discharges being blanked off and the sea chest strainer cleaned by a local dive company, in difficult conditions at the anchorage. No other damages have been found on the ship’s side structure during the diving inspection. The vessel proceeded to Port Louzis as next port of call, where a more thorough internal inspection of the sea chests was conducted by MSC after the arrival on Oct 3. On Oct 5 the ship finally left the port en route to Colombo with an ETA as of Oct 11.

Authorities investigating oil spill

South African authorities were investigating the oil spill in Algoa Bay, believed to have leaked from the 'MSC Apollo' , which anchored in the bay on the afternoon of Sep 7. Another vessel in the region had first detected the spill after spotting oil-like blobs and an oily sheen on the water. Early examinations by response teams found that the oily substance came from the 'MSC Apollo' at around 5 p.m. As part of the response efforts, the International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation Limited (ITOPF) requested oil spill trajectory modelling by contacting the vessel’s insurers. As of Sep 12, the ship remained stationary in pos. S 33° 52' N 025° 43' E. The class society for the vessel, RINA, was involved representing the flag state, Cyprus, and dealing with technical issues on the vessel. A thorough inspection will be conducted to identify the source of the oil leak. The vessel will proceed to the port when dock space becomes available. Rangers searching a bird sanctuary have found a few oiled birds but overall, the spill appeared to be fairly limited in scope. No oil has yet been seen on the beaches and they were unable to locate an oil strain in an overflight of the area. Rangers accessing St. Croix Island, a bird preserve approximately five miles offshore, however, identified six oiled penguins the South Africa Maritime Safety Authority reported. Three of the birds were heavily oiled while three lightly oiled. The penguins were captured and transported to the local SANCCOB facility for treatment. However, SAMSA reported two additional oiled penguins evaded capture. Efforts were ongoing to locate and capture them. Report with photos: https://maritime-executive.com/article/oiled-birds-found-as-south-africa-investigates-spill-from-msc-vessel

Container ship suspected of having caused oil spill

The 'MSC Apollo' was under investigation for being the source of an oil spill in the Algoa Bay.on Sep 7, 2024. After an oily sheen and oil-like blobs on the water were reported by a vessel traveling in the Algoa Bay region to the TNPA Vessel Traffic Service, a response craft was dispatched by the Vessel Traffic Service and confirmed the presence of oil on the water and pointed to the 'MSC Apollo' as the source. The spill could not be tracked further due to nightfall. The South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) approached the vessel’s insurers later that day to obtain an oil spill trajectory model from the International Tanker Owners’ Pollution Federation Limited (ITOPF) to predict the areas in which a further search should be focused. A meeting was held with the members of the South Africa Incident Management Organisation (Imorg), in which the objectives of determining the cause of the oil spill, the extent of it, and how to contain it were decided upon. During subsequent searches conducted in the areas predicted by the oil spill trajectory model no oil sheen was spotted, neither during a surveillance flight over the area nor during foot patrols of the beaches between the Port of Ngqura and the Sundays River. Following a subsequent meeting of the IMORG, the new objective of cleaning off the oil stains from the hull of the 'MSC Apollo' was agreed upon. The SAMSA reported that the cleaning operation could not be performed on Sep 8 due to inclement weather. The SAN Parks rangers, a volunteer group, have been dispatched to the San Croix island group to help any wildlife affected by the oil spill. The vessel’s insurers have agreed to send a drone to monitor the coasts, and the locals have been requested to inform the authorities should they spot animals that have been oiled.