Cape Town blames cattle ship for foul smell in city

A foul smell spreading through South Africa’s city of Cape Town is being blamed on a ship carrying livestock that arrived at the port on Sunday night.

Residents of the city and its suburbs have been questioning the source of the odour.

The City of Cape Town said on its X account that it was aware of the smell, acknowledging that it was coming from the ship.

The city’s official in charge of water and sanitation, Zahid Badroodien, said the ship carrying cattle was due to leave the port on Monday night.

He had earlier said that the “sewage smell blanketing parts of the city” was not linked to a Koeberg sewer pump station in the city.

Some South Africans on social media have expressed concern about the conditions of the livestock on the ship, with others wondering how people on the vessel might be coping.

The incident comes as ships carrying livestock bound for Western countries are being diverted through South Africa’s coast because of recent attacks in the Red Sea, according to local reports.