Between 1,000 and 2,000 litres of very low sulphur fuel oil were spilt from the Panama-flagged LPG carrier Gas Venus off Gibraltar, officials have said.
off Gibraltar, officials have said.In an incident that shut port operations on Tuesday, the South Korean-owned 2017-built ship experienced an overflow of its tanks while taking on bunkers from the bunker tanker Hercules 500 on Tuesday.
The vessel was detained by port state control and the Gibraltar Port Authority (GPA) and an investigation was launched. The captain of the gas carrier has been arrested on suspicion of a pollution offence, the Royal Gibraltar Police confirmed on Wednesday.
Oil spill responders have been working tirelessly to clean up the shoreline. Most of the released oil is said to be concentrated in the marine protected area of Camp Bay, Rosia Bay and Little Bay, with a portion of the area known as Seven Sisters also affected.
“There is currently no indication of free-floating oil any farther South of Little Bay, or any further North of Seven Sisters,” the Gibraltar government said, adding that although the total environmental impact from the spill will take a number of weeks to quantify, the environment department is taking detailed records and ecological surveys in order to conduct a full investigation.
The public has been advised that whilst the general risk to the population is low, it should avoid eating locally-caught fish and seafood due to the possibility of contamination.
The port resumed limited operations on Wednesday afternoon, albeit bunkering remains suspended, with over 10 ships said to be awaiting bunkers. Camp Bay, Little Bay and Rosia Bay beaches remain closed to the public whilst the coastal cleanup is underway.
