Fuel oil seeps out of bulk carrier in Gibraltar Bay

The dry bulk carrier OS 35 started leaking fuel oil yesterday causing some quantities of it to escape the perimeter of the boom.PHOTO: OS 35 starts leaking heavy fuel oil in Gibraltar bay. GPA

“The salvage team onboard have identified the source of this leak to two tank vents from the vessel’s bunker tanks. All vents had previously been sealed, but the seal of two vents became loose on the crumpling of the vessel,” the government of Gibraltar said in a statement.

Meanwhile, divers have now re-established the seals, and GPA is working to stop the release of oil from the vents. The authorities have installed booms at Catalan Bay beach to protect them from any oil spills.

On Tuesday, OS 35 clipped an LNG carrier Adam LNG while it was trying to maneuver an exit from Gibraltar bay. The hull of the bulk carrier broke yesterday, and the vessel started leaking lube oil and fuel oil.

GPA confirmed that it began to pump out diesel from OS 35 to the slops barge that has been brought alongside. So far, 112 cbm of diesel has been removed from the vessel, which is nearly half of its diesel fuel load.

OS 35 is carrying 183 mt of fuel oil, 250 mt of diesel and 27 mt of lube oil.

Simultaneously, skimmers have been deployed to pump out fuel oil captured in the boom.

The government and GPA are constantly monitoring the situation, and have declared the incident as "Major Incident (MAJAX)", allowing all Gibraltar's resources to be redirected to contain this emergency.

By Shilpa Sharma

Please get in touch with comments or additional info to news@engine.online