Salvage crews have had to watch helplessly while wind and waves pound a grounded cargo vessel with more than 125 tons of oil aboard against a rocky part of the Wild Coast, 110 nautical miles south of Durban. The wreck has already spilled an undetermined amount of oil.

High winds, bad weather conditions and high swells with waves breaking over the BBC China have rendered attempts to board the vessel unsafe for the salvage team, the South African Environmental Affairs Department said Thursday.

Owned by the multi-national BCC Chartering and Logistic, the 5,548 ton Antigua & Barbuda flagged cargo vessel is just four years old.

It was en route to the Port of Durban from Port of Spain with a cargo of "assorted machinery," the Environmental Affairs Department said, when it ran aground on October 16 at Port Grosvenor. The vessel’s 16 member crew was safely airlifted off shortly after she ran aground, but bad weather hampered salvage efforts during the first week too.

The removal of all oil onboard – a total of 126 metric tons including 58 tons of heavy fuel oil, 60 tons of diesel, and 8 tons of lubricants – remains the top priority and the salvage team will reconnect as soon as weather conditions allow, the ministry said.

To date, about 29 tons of heavy fuel oil has been removed from the grounded vessel. The fuel removal operation was halted on Monday due to bad weather, which has persisted throughout the week and has prevented the salvage team from continuing with this operation.

The estuary at the Msikaba River near the stricken vessel remains closed to keep the river free of oil.

The BBC China lies close to shore on the Pondoland coast near a recently declared Marine Protected Area. (Photo courtesy SABC)

It is estimated that an additional two to three days of good weather and calm seas are required for the salvage team to be able to remove the balance of the oil from the BBC China into specially designed seaslugs. The seaslugs are floating bladders used to safely store and transport oil.

The Department of Environmental Affairs’ oil pollution patrol and abatement vessel Kuswag I remains on the scene and undertakes regular patrols near the wreck.

The oil pollution patrol aircraft Kuswag VIII continues to patrol the coastline on a daily basis.

At midnight on Tuesday, the vessel’s owners declared the BBC China a "constructive total loss," due to the excessive damage sustained by the vessel during the grounding and the effect of pounding waves. It is understood by all parties that it will not be possible to refloat the vessel.

South African authorities – in consultation with local leaders and local authorities – are investigating the most effective means of reducing the wreck’s impact on the environment. "Options under consideration include full or partial wreck removal and wreck reduction. The method employed will have the least impact on the local environment and surrounding areas and a decision in this regard will be made in due course," the Environmental Affairs Department said.

Contingency plans remain in place for all beach and lagoon areas both north and south of the BBC China and a team is on standby to respond as required.

Captain William Dernier, industrial manager of the maritime safety authority in Cape Town, told reporters that the ship's bottom is breaking up slowly.

The ship is equipped for dangerous goods, and the Democratic Alliance (DA) is warning that hazardous cargo might be aboard. "Only a year ago, the BBC China - en route to Libya at the time - was found to be carrying several containers filled with the parts of sophisticated centrifuges intended for the use in the building of uranium enrichment plants," DA environment spokesperson Gareth Morgan said.

"These were listed on the ship's manifest as used machine parts," he said.

The vessel was also the subject of a search by the U.S. Coast Guard in Honolulu harbor in February, after a crew member told officials there might be hazardous material aboard. "Although ultimately cleared at the time, this ship needs to be treated with caution," said Morgan.

The ship is grounded off the pristine Pondoland coast near a recently declared Marine Protected Area. "Apart from this being a significant local tourist destination," said Morgan, "many locals sustain themselves from harvesting marine resources along this coast and have the right to be assured that this ecosystem is not contaminated."