(Photo: HM Government of Gibraltar)
Divers sealed two tank vents that leaked fuel from a bulk carrier that was damaged and beached after a collision off the British enclave of Gibraltar on the southern tip of Spain, local authorities said on Thursday.
The hull of the bulk carrier OS 35 broke after the collision with an LNG tanker and started leaking fuel oil on Wednesday, but the vessel has not broken into two parts.
"The Captain of the Port confirmed that the leak of low sulphur fuel oil from the tank vents is fully under control," the Gibraltar government said in a statement.
The LNG tanker was not significantly affected by the collision, according to local authorities.
The Gibraltar Port Authority is working with a Spanish marine rescue crew to collect a small amount of fuel oil that escaped the perimeter of a boom installed soon after Tuesday's collision, as well as to skim the fuel that has remained inside the boom.
At the same time the authority is ramping up efforts to start pumping the fuel oil, diesel and lube oil from the vessel.
Chief Minister of Gibraltar Fabian Picardo told Spanish broadcaster TVE earlier on Thursday the operation to remove around 500 tonnes of the fuel from the ship's tanks should take around 50 hours using the ship's own pumps.
The Gibraltar Port was partly closed to focus its resources on dealing with the emergency, but some operations, such as the arrival of a cruise ship on Thursday, have been allowed to proceed.
(Reporting by Jon NazcaWriting by Emma Pinedo in MadridEditing by Inti Landauro and Frances Kerry)
American Bureau of Shipping ABS said Wednesday it was providing New Technology Qualification (NTQ) services for pioneering…
Norway-based marine seismic data acquisition and processing services firm PGS and oil major Shell have entered into a multi…
While floating wind farms are seen as the next big thing in the renewable energy industry as they can be installed further…
Canadian marine technology company Cellula Robotics Ltd. announced the successful completion of various demonstration missions…
Greensea Systems and Seebyte, two companies specializing in ROV software, have partnered up, citing growing demand for "true…
The U.S. Navy said it has retrieved a fighter jet that was lost from an aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean Sea last month.The…
Marine Technology Reporter is the world's largest audited subsea industry publication serving the offshore energy, subsea defense and scientific communities.
Marine Technology ENews is the subsea industry's largest circulation and most authoritative ENews Service, delivered to your Email three times per week