Hull broken but no oil spill
Gibraltar Two days after the collision of two large transport ships off Gibraltar, the hull of the grounded bulk carrier broke. “But no oil seems to have leaked,” said the government of the British Overseas Territory on the southern tip of Spain on Wednesday evening.
The “OS 35” is already surrounded by a floating oil barrier that will stop any fuel spill. The 24 crew members and six inspectors who were on board at the time of the break-up were safely brought ashore.
Why the two ships collided off the east coast of Gibraltar on Monday afternoon remained unclear for the time being. An investigation to determine the cause has been launched. An oil spill was feared after the accident. According to the latest official information, the “OS 35” has 215 tons of heavy fuel oil, 250 tons of diesel and 27 tons of lubricating oil in their tanks.
They wanted to continue trying to remove the fuel from the ship as quickly as possible, it said. So far this has not been possible.
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Shortly before the hull fracture became known, the government of Gibraltar had announced that the salvage work would be carried out with extreme caution to protect the environment. The main priorities would be to minimize the risk of pollution and protect the coasts of Gibraltar and neighboring countries.
The cargo ship was on its way to the Netherlands
The 178-meter-long bulk carrier collided with a liquid gas tanker on Monday, causing a leak. The “OS 35” flying the flag of Tuvalu was therefore grounded in shallow water. She was further aground about 700 meters off the beach at Catalan Bay on Wednesday in calm seas.
The “OS 35” loaded with steel was on its way to the Dutch port of Vlissingen when it rammed the liquid gas tanker “Adam LNG” at anchor on Monday afternoon. The 289 meter long gas tanker flying the flag of the Marshall Islands was largely undamaged in the collision.
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