Grounded ship’s cargo to be steam-cleaned

Two-thirds of the cargo has been removed from the grounded Safmarine Agulhas and the rest will be steam-cleaned before being taken ashore, the National Port Authority (NPA) said on Thursday.

NPA East London spokesperson Terry Taylor said 475 containers have been offloaded — all the cargo from the deck and two dry holds — leaving 199 containers submerged and contaminated with oil in two completely flooded holds.

There were 595 containers on board, slightly more than the original estimate of 581.