A ship which broke free from a tow line lies stranded near the shore 37 miles north of Durban. The MT Phoenix ended up on the rocks at Christmas Bay, Sheffield Beach, South Africa.

The ship was on its way to a scrap yard, but its anchor line broke, sending it to drift off course.

Andrian barnes, Kwadukuza's Chief Emergency officers is worried about moving the fuel from the ship, in order to prevent an unwanted oil spill.

"Possibly pump it onto tanks which we will put on the beach, and then we will move those tanks. They might possibly have to be moved by air, we don't know or we could put up a pumping facility. It is just where the vessel is - it is very, very difficult to access the vessel, it is right in front of a lot of homes and that and sort of a down a steep cliff area. So to actually access the vessel and pump the oil out of there is going to be extremely difficult," said Barnes via East Coast Radio.

Stranded ship
A ship which broke free from a tow line lies stranded near the shore at Sheffield Beach. REUTERS/Rogan Ward
A wave crashes into the ship
A wave crashes into a ship which broke free from a tow line at Sheffield Beach. REUTERS/Rogan Ward
Oil Spill Oil Spill South Africa South Africa