LDuring a press conference, the maritime captain of Sebta, Francisco Sierra, stressed that it was an accident ” very serious “because the quantity dumped at sea was ” huge “although it only affected the area where the ship was refueling, reports Spanish news agency EFE.
Sierra explained it was an accident ” atypical “ And “difficult to predict”specifying that the ship had not polluted the waters during its journey to Sebta from the port of Vilagarcía de Arousa (Pontevedra) from where it had departed.
The marine captain noted that this type of spill usually occurs “due to tank overflows due to human errors in calculation or manipulation of valves, but here it was difficult to predict as it was the result of structural failure” of the ship.
The ship, built in 2006, measuring 127 meters long and 20 meters wide, arrived in town around 3 p.m. Monday from the port of Vilagarcía de Arousa. “The ship must have suffered an impact undetected by the crew because there was a 32 centimeter crack which was not easy to see”specified Francisco Sierra.
According to him, during this journey from Galicia, the ship “must not have polluted because the tank was empty”. He also recalled that there are planes which detect these spills and would have alerted the situation upon arrival at the port of Sebta.
Between 75 and 80% of the spilled fuel already removed
However, the fuel will ” several days “ to be removed from the Alfau quay area, where the ship is still moored. “This quay has interior galleries which complicate this extraction operation” he indicated. However, “Between 75 and 80% of the spill has already been removed. And it was light 180 fuel, so there was little evaporation”.
The maritime captain explained that the intervention first focused on stabilizing the situation of the ship and that an inspection of the ship is underway by a maritime inspector who will determine the temporary repair.
Concerning the control of the spill, he stressed that there had been ” a lot of chance “ with weather conditions “because the west wind helped control and if it had been from the east it would have been a disaster and all the ferries would have been contaminated.”
Regarding the fine, he indicated that it would exceed 200,000 euros and noted that precautionary measures must now be taken: first, the owner must appoint a legal representative in Spain because it is a ship foreigner flying the flag of Liberia, then post two bonds, one to meet the fine and the other to pay the costs of cleaning up the spill.
Due to this circumstance, the tanker will have to remain ” several days “ more in the port of Sebta, while a meeting is planned tomorrow at the Capitanía Marítima where the economic fine could be determined ” precisely “.
During these days, a response team will remain near the vessel with several booms until the entire spill is cleared from the water surface.
(with EFE)
