Updated Wednesday, 31 August 2022 – 21:34 The Government of Gibraltar has announced that there has been a leak of lubricating oil although it is currently contained within the first deployed anti-pollution barrier The hull of the damaged ship is broken, increasing the risk of contamination in the Bay de Algeciras/Video: El MundoCdiz Two ships collide in the waters near the Rock of Gibraltar The risk of contamination in the Bay of Algeciras is increasing after the incident that occurred last Tuesday when two ships collided. One of them, the bulk carrier OS 35, is still stranded on the east side of the Rock of Gibraltar and its hull, as confirmed by the Government of Fabian Picardo, has broken. However, they also point out that the two sections of the ship have not yet been they have separated completely, although it is not ruled out that this may happen. What happened was quite predictable and therefore the authorities of the Rock were urgently trying to extract the fuel from the ship, something that has not been possible yet. More than 290 tons between fuel oil, gas oil and oil. The OS 35 is already surrounded by an ocean barrier that should contain any oil spill. According to sources from the Government of Gibraltar, a leak has occurred as a result of the movement caused by the rupture of the hull. Initial inquiries indicate that it is lubricating oil. According to the aforementioned sources, the spill is currently contained within the first anti-pollution barrier deployed by the Gibraltar maritime authorities. They have also assured that “every effort will be made to remove it from the sea using a ‘skimmer’ and a sludge barge before it can seep out of the barrier.” The Gibraltar Port Authority is working with owners, rescuers and P&I Club insurers to solve all the problems that may arise now. For her part, the Maritime Captain is taking measures to ensure that any environmental impact is minimized and all people on board, a total of 24 crew members and six inspectors, have been safely evacuated. Operations in the Port of Gibraltar are currently suspended in order to concentrate all resources on this emergency. On alert
On this side of the fence, the delegation of the Government of the Andalusian Government in Cádiz has declared, in a preventive manner, the Pre-emergency phase of the Emergency Plan for the Risk of Contamination of the Coast in Andalusia (PECLA), due to the collision of the OS 35 and the Adam LNG, in the eastern area of Gibraltar. The Minister of the Presidency, Interior, Social Dialogue and Administrative Simplification, through its Emergency and Civil Protection teams, has been keeping the emergency monitoring group activated since Tuesday extraordinary measures to reinforce the mechanisms for coordination and monitoring of this incident and its possible evolution. the Andalusian Government, in accordance with its autonomous powers, would raise the status of the aforementioned plan. In the current phase, special reinforcement measures are applied in the as well as observation, control and prediction, as well as information management measures. Maritime Captain of Algeciras, dependent on the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda, of the Government of Spain, with whom the autonomous administration has maintained permanent contact since the beginning of the incident, has indicated to the 112 service that “the situation is under control”, while time that the Alert Phase of the National Maritime Plan has been declared.
Reactions Waiting for the tasks to be carried out successfully, the political reactions have not been long in coming. Thus, the mayor of Algeciras and PP senator, José Ignacio Landaluce, has criticized Gibraltar’s lack of environmental commitment. “The accident has occurred in the waters of the bay, in the Spanish territorial sea”, although he admits that the Roca authority manages them since they are in litigation. The first mayor of Algeciras recalled the episode that occurred in 2008 with the accident of the ship Freda. “Salvamento Martimo was not notified to collaborate” and he hopes that “a storm from Levante does not arrive, otherwise we will have problems.” In this case, points out the popular, he hopes that there is, at the moment there is, “collaboration with the Spanish authorities despite the zeal they always have from Gibraltar with those waters. We must put the common good first since the environment belongs to everyone “For his part, the mayor of La Línea, Juan Franco (La Línea 100 x 100), hopes that everything will be resolved “as soon as possible and without environmental damage”, showing his concern about what may happen.” Saturation From Verdemar Ecologists in Action, Antonio Muoz, regrets the situation that is not new in the Bay of Algeciras and considers that it is due “to the collapse of the port of Gibraltar”. For the activist there are cases such as Freda, New Flame or Samotraki that show “The problems we have in the Strait and for which there seems to be no solution.” Regarding the last incident, they regret that the Gibraltarian authorities “did not take the ship to the port as a place of refuge and have it near the shore in the eastern “.According to the crite rios deThe Trust ProjectLearn more