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Thousands of pill bottles wash up on Eastern Cape beaches after stormy seas batter cargo ships

Thousands of pill bottles wash up on Eastern Cape beaches after stormy seas batter cargo ships
Bottles of medication washed up on beaches in Port Alfred. (Photo: Ndlame Municipality)
Estelle Ellis
By Estelle Ellis
12 Sep 2024
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Cargo consisting of pills, pre-cooked meals and cookies have begun washing up on Eastern Cape beaches after almost 90 containers were lost at sea during storms off the Wild Coast.

The South African Maritime Safety Authority (Samsa) last week issued an alert that 86 shipping containers had fallen off two vessels sailing along the Eastern Cape coast.

In Port Alfred, 5,056 medicine containers washed up on the town’s beaches. Port Alfred Hospital pharmacist Robert Smith said these containers were filled with Diclofenac 75mg (commonly used for arthritis) and Glipizide (for treating Type 2 diabetes). 

Fanie Fouche from the Ndlambe Municipality’s community protection services said they had received a call at 7am from the fire station, reporting pill bottles being washed up on East Beach.

“We immediately activated our environmental compliance unit, which spent three hours on the beach collecting bottles of tablets,” he said.

The bottles were handed over to the Port Alfred Hospital for disposal. 

pill bottles Hundreds of bottles of pills washed up on beaches in Port Alfred. (Photo: Ndlame Municipality)



After being battered by stormy seas, the MV CMA CGM Belem finally anchored in the Port of Ngqura in Nelson Mandela Bay in mid-August. At the same time, the MSC Antonia berthed in Cape Town after losing 46 containers at sea.

On 28 August 2024, the ship encountered severe weather conditions approximately 29 nautical miles northeast of Port St. Johns, resulting in the loss of 46 containers overboard while 305 containers on board were damaged. These containers may wash ashore along various parts of the coastline.

The MSC Antonia was travelling from Colombo (Sri Lanka) to New York. 

Samsa issued a statement last week confirming that the MSC Antonia had arrived safely in Cape Town on 29 August. Samsa asked for sightings of the containers to be reported. 

Communities warned

When the first lost cargo washed ashore last week at Xhora Mouth on the Wild Coast, communities looted the containers containing cookies.

“It has come to our attention that one container has already washed ashore near the village of Mpame, south of Coffee Bay,” said Samsa.

“We want to strongly caution community members against salvaging these containers or any items that may wash ashore… The contents of these containers are unknown and could be hazardous. Please do not attempt to retrieve or open any containers that may wash ashore.”

The OR Tambo Municipality also issued a warning to communities last week not to eat anything they found inside the containers.

On Thursday, the contents of more containers washed up on beaches in Nelson Mandela Bay, Port Alfred, Jeffreys Bay and St. Francis Bay.

pills pre-cooked meals Pre-cooked meals and bottles of pills recovered by the Kouga Municipality from beaches around Jeffreys Bay and St. Francis Bay. (Photo: Supplied)



pill bottles Bottles of medication washed up on beaches in Port Alfred. (Photo: Ndlame Municipality)



Nelson Mandela Bay metro spokesperson Sithembiso Soyaya said waste management teams are collecting debris from the harbour wall to Pine Lodge and have filled 190 bags with tablets and pre-cooked meals. 

“Efforts are ongoing to search for the lost containers. We strongly urge the public to avoid handling any debris and instead contact the authorities, who will arrange for the safe salvage and disposal of the wreckage,” Soyaya added.

According to Samsa, the MV CMA CGM Belem’s insurer launched a search for the containers it had lost along the Wild Coast. 

“On Friday last week, the ship’s insurer representatives in South Africa launched a five-hour aerial surveillance and search for the vessel’s lost containers after several sightings of floating containers along the Wild Coast area of the Eastern Cape province were reported to Samsa.”

There were reports of 19 containers floating at sea. Samsa said that while “about 20 containers” were seen from the plane, it could not be readily established that any belonged to the Belem.

Samsa has also issued a navigational warning to vessels and a public appeal for reports of any sightings of floating containers. DM

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