Today in History: The Castillo de Bellver catches fire and spills oil
The only visible damage was some 1 500 gannets being covered in oil, most of which were collected from an island near the coast where they were gathering for the onset of the breeding season.
Saturday, 6 August 1983, The Castillo de Bellver spilt 250 000 tons of oil in the sea in Cape Town after it had caught fire in Saldanha Bay.
The fire in the oil tanker started when it was about 70 miles north-west of Cape Town, and the blazing ship drifted off shore and broke in two.
The stern section, carrying close to 100 000 tons of oil, capsized and sank in deep water, 24 miles (40km) off the coast.
The bow section was towed away from the coast and was eventually sunk with the use of controlled explosive charges.
Between 50 000 and 60 000 tonnes are estimated to have spilled into the sea or burned. Although the oil initially drifted towards the coast, a wind shift subsequently took it offshore, where it entered the north-west flowing Benguela Current.
Although a considerable amount of oil entered the sea, there was little cleaning-up to do and the environmental effects were minimal.
The only visible damage was some 1 500 gannets being covered in oil, most of which were collected from an island near the coast where they were gathering for the onset of the breeding season.
A number of seals were observed surfacing in the vicinity of the dispersant spraying activities, but were not thought to have suffered any adverse effects.
Also of initial concern was the ‘black rain’ of airborne oil droplets that fell during the first 24 hours of the incident on wheat growing and sheep grazing fields due east of the accident, although no long-term damage was recorded from these residues.
The impact on both the rich fishing grounds and the fish stocks of the area was also considered to be negligible.
Information sourced from: South African History Online.
