Heavy fuel oil has leaked from the bulk carrier OS 35, which is grounded after colliding with an LNG tanker near the Bay of Gibraltar on the southern tip of Spain on Monday. While authorities say it was a small amount of oil and Gibraltar’s port master insisted the spill is “fully under control”, the environmental impact of the spill was not immediately clear. Authorities said one person was arrested Thursday in connection with the incident, but did not provide further information. Divers dispatched to the ship sealed off the source of the leak – two vents in the fuel tanks, local authorities said. Image: Gibraltar tug Eliott sails alongside OS 35 The Gibraltar Port Authority said a small amount of oil escaped from the perimeter of a boom that was put in place to contain any spillage. To prevent further expansion, a second barrier was planned to be deployed on Thursday. Gibraltar’s chief minister, Fabian Picardo, told Spanish broadcaster TVE earlier in the day that the operation to remove around 500 tonnes of fuel from the ship’s tanks should take around 50 hours using the ship’s own pumps. The port authority is working with a Spanish maritime salvage crew to collect a small amount of fuel oil, as well as to remove the fuel that has remained inside the boom. The LNG tanker was not significantly affected by the collision, according to authorities.
