The Oswego-Guardian was rounding the southern tip of Africa, fully loaded with crude oil from the Middle East, while the Texanita was in ballast, and headed in the opposite direction from Trinidad to Ras Tanura.
On August 22, The New York Times reported that "not much" oil had leaked from the site of the incident and serious shore pollution was not expected.
Captain Salvourdas (the master of the Texanita), a crewman, Vasilos Tanos, and an unidentified Chinese messman from the Oswego Guardian were taken to a hospital in Mossel Bay.
[4] A United Nations resolution[5] that would have made the use of inert gas safety systems mandatory for oil tankers, was still in draft in 1972.
[citation needed] The accident contributed to an overhaul of the international maritime traffic separation system that was in force at the time.