Crude oil release at Durban single buoy mooring

November 20, 2002

Some crude oil was released at the oil industry's single buoy mooring (SBM) off Reunion Rocks at about 22h30 last night. It came from a "breakaway coupling" in one of the two hoses connecting a discharging oil tanker to the SBM. This coupling disconnects the tanker automatically if it moves away from the buoy unexpectedly and seals the hose ends. There was no obvious reason for the coupling to disconnect. This will be the subject of an in depth investigation to prevent it happening again.

The disconnection was quickly detected and the tanker stopped pumping immediately. The self-sealing feature worked properly so that the loss of oil to the water was limited to a few seconds of flow. We estimate that about 15m3 of oil was lost. The relevant authorities were immediately informed about the incident.

At first light there was a visible sheen on the surface of the sea about 5 km from the SBM and 3km offshore. The size of the sheen is about 600m by 300m. It is moving southwards and away from the shore. It has been agreed with authorities that the best environmental practice is not to use dispersant but rather to allow the wind and waves to break down the oil. The sheen is expected to disperse naturally and completely during the day. It should not adversely affect the environment.

The affected hose has now been properly secured and sealed and the tanker has resumed discharging operations via the second hose. The tanker is expected complete discharging by this evening.