Collision between two tankers in the strait, near Moroccan waters

Two oil tankers, the chemical tanker Southern Puma and the bulk carrier Louisa Bolten, collided on Friday morning in the waters of the Strait of Gibraltar, off the coast of Morocco.

The incident occurred about 20 miles southeast of Punta Europa and just over 15 miles east of Ceuta. Alerted, the Tarifa Maritime Rescue Coordination Center deployed the vessels Luz de Mar and Salvamar Denebola to the scene. The first ship, flying the Liberian flag and loaded with paraffin destined for Moeve in San Roque (formerly Cepsa), suffered significant damage to its side, causing a spill of approximately 500 cubic meters (500,000 liters) of the product in the waters of the strait, according to the estimate of the maritime captaincy of the port of Algeciras after analysis of a sample.

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As for the second ship, flying the flag of the Marshall Islands and sailing from the port of Avonmouth (United Kingdom) to Aliaga (Turkey), was damaged in the bow. However, no human damage was recorded, reports Europa Sur. In view of the light damage suffered by the two ships, the maritime services authorized them to continue their navigation. The maritime services ensure that they are monitoring the extent of the paraffin spill, the installation of anti-pollution barriers in the area having proven ineffective due to the biodegradable nature of the product which, it is specified, is not toxic.