Spills
Cape agulhas, south africa
Wafra; Cape Agulhas, South Africa · NOAAORR-6213
- issued
- 1971-02-27 00:00Z
- status
- cancelled 1971-03-13 00:00Z
- self-cancels
- 1971-03-13 00:00Z
- authority
- NOAA OR&R
- sea
- Indian Ocean
- position
- -35.000, 20.033
- vessels
- TUG OCEANIC · 3 messagesTANKER WAFRA
- source
- incidentnews · first seen 2026-09-03 15:09Z
Original warning text
Wafra; Cape Agulhas, South Africa. Cape Agulhas, South Africa. 1. On the morning of February 27, 1971, the tanker Wafra was taken under tow off Cape Alghulas, South Africa after her engine room flooded. Later that day the towline broke, and the Wafra drifted onto the Agulhas Reef, five miles from Cape Agulhas. Cargo tanks were ruptured, and Arabian crude oil began to leak from the vessel. On March 8, the vessel was pulled off the reef by the tug Oceanic, and towed to a position 200 miles from the coast where it was deliberately sunk on March 12. Keyword: Sinking.. 2. COMMODITY: ARABIAN CRUDE OIL. 3. POSITION 35.000S 020.033E. NOAA INCIDENTNEWS 6213: https://incidentnews.noaa.gov/incident/6213
This area · spills & pollution incidents
1 within 180 nm since 1971 · 0 in the last 12 months · 0 in force now
Season · when spills & pollution incidents happen here
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month of issue, all years in the archive
Nearby now · within 120 nm
Nothing else in force within 120 nm.
Worldwide now
8 spills & pollution incidents in force · see all
Spills
Oil and chemical spills, groundings and vessel casualties with a pollution threat: NOAA IncidentNews responses since 1957, and spill-response areas broadcast as navigational warnings. All current spills & pollution incidents →
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