Thousands of pill canisters washed ashore
If you find medicine containers on the beach in Port Alfred, don’t open them, don’t allow dogs or children near them and take them to the hospital for safe disposal. That’s the warning Ndlambe Municipality officials issued today after thousands of plastic medicine canisters washed up on East Beach. The containers appear to contain US-manufactured anti-inflammatory and diabetic medication.
Earlier today (Tuesday September 10), municipal staff retrieved more than 5000 containers of medicine scattered along East Beach, communications officer TK Mtiki said.
In a post on Ndlambe’s Facebook page, Community Protection Services Deputy Director Fanie Fouche explained how the discovery unfolded: “At 7am this morning, we received a call from the Fire Station informing us of medical containers found along East Beach. We immediately activated our Environmental Compliance Unit, which spent three hours on the beach collecting bottles of tablets. As you can see, the bakkie is fully loaded with containers.”
Port Alfred Hospital Pharmacist Robert Smith had identified the drugs as Diclofenac 75mg and Glipizide.
However, Fouche emphasised the potential dangers of consuming the medication.
“If you come across these containers on the beach, please refrain from opening them or consuming their contents,” he said.
The collected medication was handed over to Port Alfred Hospital for disposal. Smith said the drugs were Diclofenac 75mg and Glipizide, manufactured in the United States.
“These medicines were likely… part of an import shipment,” Smith said.
Smith reiterated the warning against consuming the medication.
“It is unknown how long these medicines have been in the sea, and their stability cannot be guaranteed. If anyone finds any containers, they must be brought to the hospital for proper disposal. We will seek further guidance from the district and disaster management,” Smith said.
Ndlambe Municipality had alerted the Sarah Baartman Disaster Management Centre and the Provincial Disaster Management Centre of the incident. Both agencies were investigating the matter, Mtiki said.
Beachgoers were urged to remain vigilant and immediately report to the authorities any suspicious or unusual objects they find on the coastline, including medicine canisters.
Shipping containers
Meanwhile the South African Marine Safety Association (SAMSA) said the search for cargo containers lost overboard off a number of vessels along South Africa’s Indian Ocean corridor over the past month continues. In a statement last week, the organisation said two of the vessels most recently affected – the MV CMA CMG Belem, currently in the port of Ngqurha, and the MSC Antonio, now safely berthed in Cape Town – continue with their onboard cargo loads adjustments.
According to SAMSA, on 28 August 2024 severe weather conditions led to the loss of 46 containers overboard and damage to 305 containers on board MSC Antonio.
“The incident occurred approximately 29 nautical miles northeast of Port St. Johns while the vessel was en-route from Colombo to New York. In light of the container loss, a navigation warning has been issued to all vessels operating in the affected area.”
The CMA CMG Belem had docked at Ngqurha a few days earlier, having reportedly lost close to a 100 containers overboard due to bad weather, near Richards Bay on the KwaZulu-Natal coast line.
The vessel, measuring 336 metres in length, 51 metres in height, and with a draft of 14.8 metres, had initially sought refuge at Maputo Bay but was redirected to Gqeberha.
“The South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) urges all maritime operators and the public to exercise caution. We request that any sightings of containers or debris along the South African coastline be reported immediately to local authorities or SAMSA by contacting the Maritime Rescue Coordinating Centre (MRCC) at 021 938 3300 with the position, number, and colour of the containers if observed,” said SAMSA.
Read the full article on SAMSA’s blog here.
According to the World Shipping Council, 221 containers were lost at sea in 2023 out of 250 million containers transported. This was a reduction from the previous lowest-ever loss of 661 containers in 2022. About 33% of the lost containers had been recovered.
