East London residents are urged to report any containers spotted offshore after several containers were damaged or lost overboard off the coast last month.
In a short statement, global shipping company Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), said the cargo ship MSC ANTONIA encountered heavy adverse sea conditions while sailing off East London on August 28.
“In close coordination with the South African Maritime Safety Authority (Samsa), MSC has implemented a comprehensive network with a central coordination hub and a range of specialised operators ready to respond along the entire coastline,” the company said.
“Ships equipped with sonar have also been deployed to search for missing cargo at sea.”
It added that a lot of the missing cargo and container debris have been spotted and recovered already, but it is still possible that what is left will wash up ashore in the coming days.
"The population is asked not to approach containers, debris and/or cargoes found nor to take away, touch or consume these items as they may pose a health risk. In case such debris or cargoes are discovered, please call Spill Tech at +27 63 404 2128 to report," the MSC said.
"MSC takes this incident very seriously, both in terms of the impact of such accidents on the natural environment and in terms of any damage to customer cargo," the company said.
IOL News