Clean-up operation under way as low tide exposes suspected old oil spill at St James beach

24 March 2023

The City of Cape Town wants to inform the public that a clean-up operation is currently under way at St James tidal pool and the surrounding beach on the False Bay coast. The low tide exposed what-could-be a very old oil spill from years ago. 

Earlier today, a very low tide exposed what the City suspects could be a very old oil spill from years ago, at St James beach.

Teams from the City's Coastal Management and Solid Waste departments were immediately dispatched to start with clean-up operations. The work must be done by hand as we cannot get heavy machinery such as a front-end loader onto the beach. The teams can also only work during low and mid-tides when the area is exposed.

To our knowledge, only St James beach is affected.

'I want to assure residents and visitors we are working as fast and thorough as we can. Some of the material may become dislodged and re-float as the removal process is under way. However, we will continue the work for as long as needed over the coming days as the re-floated patches make landfall again. 

'We have cordoned off the areas where work is under way. But otherwise, the tidal pool and beach are open to the public. Best is to avoid the work area. At this point in time, we suspect that this could be an old oil spill. We don't know where it came from, when it was spilled, and so forth. This will have to be investigated, as the City has no knowledge of an oil spill in this area in recent years, neither are we aware of any reports. We will inform the public if any information comes to light,' said the City's Deputy Mayor and Mayoral Committee Member for Spatial Planning and Environment, Alderman Eddie Andrews.

The City will keep the public informed on our progress with the clean-up operation.

Published by:
City of Cape Town, Media Office