Source of oils spill at Afrodite Beach still not known

WINDHOEK, 10 MAY  – Efforts to identify the ship which dumped oil at Afrodite Beach between Walvis Bay and Swakopmund in March 2018 have not yielded any outcome, and chances of prosecuting the culprits are slim.
The offender, once identified, would have to cover the cost of cleaning up the oil spill, which is estimated to be around N.dollars 5 million plus other costs.
Ministry of Works and Transport (MWT) Public Relations Officer, Julius Ngweda said no more efforts would actively be expended in the investigation.
“However, the matter would remain open, and the ministry calls on anyone with information about the source of the oil spill to report it to authorities,” he told Nampa on enquiry Wednesday.
In the meantime, MWT, the Navy, NamPort and the Namibian Police’s Water Wing resolved to strengthen measures to identify high risk ships in advance, and harmonise procedures related to arrival notifications and inward clearance of foreign ships.
These authorities also agreed to implement enhanced compliance control and enforcement measures at anchorages.
In order to implement and sustain the agreed measures, a standing forum will be established to be led by the MWT, Ngweda said.
“One of the practical outcomes of the meeting [held on] 05 April 2018 was that some high risk ships that are anchored in the bay have been identified and ordered to leave the Namibian waters,” Ngweda added.

NAMPA