[Image: SANCCOB]
An oil slick first spotted over a week ago has spread to pollute around 40 kilometres of West Coast beaches, now threatening the Oilfant’s River estuary — a vital biodiversity hotspot.
Bird Island near Strandfontein is just 20km south of the affected area, putting SANCCOB (Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds) on high alert. They’re especially worried about the 45,000 endangered Cape Gannets at Lamberts Bay. At least one Cape Gannet was found dead over the weekend.
The exact source of the spill hasn’t been confirmed, but suspicion is on the wreck of the Panama-registered MV Ultra Galaxy, which ran aground south of Brand se Baai last July. The ship broke apart in a storm days later, spilling over 500 tons of oil and fertiliser into the ocean.
Pollution is visible from just south of the wreck site. Locals say it doesn’t look like heavy crude oil but more like lighter hydrocarbons. Back when the ship went down, it was carrying around 332 tons of VLSFO (very low sulphur fuel oil), 180 tons of MGO (marine gas oil), and other hydraulic oils.
The spokesperson for the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) Peter Mbelengwa told GroundUp on Sunday that the source of the spill was still being investigated and that samples had been collected for analysis.

This incident triggered the emergency oil spill response company Spill Tech for clean up and monitoring at the sites where oil had been observed.
“Protection measures for the Olifant’s River estuary are being considered with the possibility of booming the estuary if conditions allow.”
Anti-pollution booms had been delivered to the estuary on Sunday. The Olifant’s River estuary is a key concern as it is one of just four permanently open estuaries on the West Coast and is ranked in the top five most important estuaries from a conservation perspective.
Locals are saying that the authorities brushed off the first warnings about the pollution. Local diver Ronnie Coetzee shared in a widely-shared voice note how he and two other divers got “lekker sick” after diving in the area, with burning throats. He even spent three days trying to get oil out of his wetsuit.
GroundUp notes that while an official was reportedly sent to take a water sample after this, Coetzee was never interviewed and no immediate anti-pollution measures were instituted.
By Thursday afternoon, oil had started appearing on beaches to the south of the wreck, prompting clean-up teams to be deployed with full clean-up operations underway by Friday.
West Coast environmental activist and conservationist Suzanne du Plessis, who chaired Olifant’s Estuary Management Forum for three years, was also someone who raised the initial alarm about the current slick.
“This is a big slick, it’s huge, and it’s coming from way up north as far as the eye can see. If it gets into the estuary, it will be a disaster. For the beaches, there’s not much anyone can do except clean them, but the estuary can be protected and I think that should be a priority.”
SANCCOB reported that no live oiled birds had been seen yet, but described the situation as “developing” and said it was waiting for further information and was ready to deploy teams if necessary.
On Sunday, Dee said the estuary had not yet been affected but warned, “So far we’ve dodged a bullet, but we don’t really know what’s still out there.”
SANCCOB has appealed to people not to handle or capture oiled birds but to report any sightings to 021 557 6155 (daytime hours) or 078 638 3731 (after hours).
On 27 January this year, The Daily Maverick reported that an oil spill had affected 19 underweight African penguins, who were left oiled between Hout Bay and Kommetjie. It was reported then that the cause remained a mystery, and no connection has been made between this current spill along the West Coast and the one that affected the penguins.
Of the 19 oiled penguins admitted at Sanccob to date, 12 were rescued on 22 January 2025 and a further seven have since been rescued.
Most of the penguins are underweight, which indicates that they may have been contaminated for a few days and therefore unable to hunt for food, according to Monica Stassen, Sanccob’s preparedness and response manager.
“Some individuals are being treated for bacterial infections and in general, the penguins are suffering from stress, which is expected,” she said.
For a species already on the brink of collapse, oil spills continue to pose a major threat to their survival.
Sanccob said that “This incident is a reminder that oil pollution remains a threat to the critically endangered African penguin and other marine species. Maintaining preparedness to respond 24/7/365 is critical to ensure the survival of affected animals.”
There have been 16 oil spill incidents to which Sanccob has responded in the past five years. Of those, six had a documented wildlife impact where oiled seabirds were rescued, rehabilitated and released.
There are very possibly other spills that go undetected.
[Source: GroundUp]