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The
Jolly Rubinoship, which caught fire and ran aground, off Richards Bay about 300 kilometres North of Durban
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A freighter grounded near a UNESCO wildlife site on the South African coast is leaking oil from at least one ruptured fuel tank, officials said today.
The Italian-flagged Jolly Rubinohad over 1,000 tonnes of diesel and fuel oil on board when it beached on Thursday near the St Lucia Wetland Park, a sanctuary for birds and a variety of rare wetland plants on South Africa's northeast coast.
The ship is unmanned and was disabled by a raging fire that began on Tuesday. Authorities also warned the public that the ship was carrying a container full of highly toxic chemicals.
A pollution control aircraft reported oil seeping from the vessel's hull and said a light 10-metre-wide slick lay parallel to the coast about 100 metres from the beach and was drifting northwards.
The ship, which is on fire, lay aground about seven miles to the south of the main estuary leading to the St Lucia Wetlands Park's main lake. Conservation manager Richard Penn-Sawers said environmental effects of the spill were not known.
The Jolly Rubinohad been heading from the South African port of Durban to Mombasa in Kenya when a fire forced its 22 crew to abandon ship. The vessel was carrying a mixed cargo as well as about 1,300 tonnes of fuel and diesel oil.
The fire that disabled the vessel on Tuesday had quickly spread to the flammable cargo, causing explosions that could be seen from the nearby port of Richards Bay, some 22 miles south of the ships current position.