More than 200 people are being drawn in to ramp up the clean-up of oil from the grounded Ultra Galaxy general cargo vessel after the last few days’ wintry and stormy weather on South Africa’s west coast teared the wreck further into pieces. The South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) gave an update yesterday, saying the ship, which grounded on July 9, had sustained significant damage following the severe weather and high swells experienced over the weekend. The vessel has now broken up further, resulting in a release of oil onto a nearby beach. The wreck has split further, breaking apart and turning over, with almost of the entire length of her hull now underwater. Meanwhile in Gqeberha, Eastern Cape, SAMSA confirmed that the CMA CGM Belem arrived in Algoa Bay at the weekend and was currently anchored at the Port of Ngqurha. The Malta-flagged CMA CGM Belem boxship sought shelter in Algoa Bay on Sunday after losing 99 containers at sea in the Indian Ocean on Thursday evening. Authorities are actively working to secure a berth for the vessel as soon as one becomes available. Vessels traversing the ocean area, and the public, are requested to report any sightings of the lost containers to the relevant authorities. SAMSA is having one of its busiest years thanks to the enormous switch in trading patterns with a significant swathe of the global merchant fleet avoiding the war-torn Red Sea on trips between Asia and Europe and instead heading around the coast of South Africa. googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1_95_0_1_2'); }); TagsSouth Africa