Operations at the Gibraltar port have been called off after an oil spill incident in the bay earlier this week.
The incident occurred on Tuesday morning in the southern part of the western anchorage when Panama-flagged LPG carrier Gas Venus experienced an overflow of its tanks while taking on bunkers at the Bay of Gibraltar from the bunker tanker Hercules 500.
experienced an overflow of its tanks while taking on bunkers at the Bay of Gibraltar from the bunker tanker Hercules 500.The Gibraltar Port Authority (GPA) has initiated its oil spill contingency plan in conjunction with the Department of Environment and response operations are currently underway. The oil washed up on shore in Rosia Bay and Camp Bay, with the beaches closed as clean-up teams were deployed on shore to mop up the oil before it was washed back out to sea.
The vessel was detained by port state control and the GPA on Tuesday and an investigation was launched. The captain of the gas carrier owned by South Korea’s KSS Line has been arrested on suspicion of a pollution offence, the Royal Gibraltar Police confirmed on Wednesday.
The port authority said that quantifying the amount of oil released into the bay is not currently the main priority, as this can be misrepresented at this stage of the clean-up process.
“Early indications are that the impact of the oil spill has been limited to the area of Camp Bay and Rosia Bay. There have not been any sightings of any free floating streaks of oil moving away from this area, however, this is being continuously monitored and may change with the tides,” the GPA added.
Gibraltar witnessed a major pollution incident last August when OS 35 bulk carrier came into contact with LNG carrier Adam LNG while manoeuvring to exit the port. The aft of the ship grounded, and a gash opened up on the starboard of the hull and in the following weeks the ship lost its structural integrity. The wrecked bulker was removed from Gibraltar waters last month.
