Cleanup of fuel remains from ship OS35 off the coast of GibraltarGOBIERNO DE GIBRALTAR (GOBIERNO DE GIBRALTAR)
The spill of the semi-sunken bulk carrier off the coast of Gibraltar, the
OS35
, has once again caused hydrocarbon stains on the coast of the Rock this Thursday morning.
The affected area, Sandy Bay, is a beach near the controlled stranding area — 700 meters from land — where "significant oil globules and barrier material" have reached the shore, as reported by the Gibraltarian Government. first thing in the morning
This has led to the operators working hard to clean this area, until the oil has been reduced to the area of the outer breakwaters.
"There is still a considerable amount of oil-covered rocks," sources from the Rock Administration confirmed in a new statement hours later.
Hence, the Gibraltar Port Authority has chosen to close a part of the coast of Little Bay, another nearby point where the waters of the desalination plants that give water to the Rock are.
To this has been added the decision to shorten the barrier that is placed in the area of Catalan Bay —the closest to the damaged ship— to prevent it from reaching the coast, as has happened before, if the weather worsens during the Weekend.
Meanwhile, 700 meters from the shore, the work on the
OS35
they continue.
The rescuers —made up of the Gibraltarian company designated by the shipowner's insurance, teams from the port of Gibraltar and the Spanish Maritime Salvage— work in two groups.
On the one hand, work continues inside the ship to extract as much fuel oil as possible, the most dangerous and polluting fuel and the one that has been dumping into the sea for days.
At the time of the accident, which occurred last Monday, the merchant said that he was traveling, for his own consumption, with 255 tons of diesel, 222.5 of fuel oil and 27 of lubricant.
After days of work, they have already managed to remove the diesel, the oils and more than half of the fuel.
Although the tasks continue for the greatest possible extraction of tanks 1 and 2 that contain this substance, Gibraltar believes that it is about to reach the maximum possible cleanliness.
The second work front is being carried out in the surroundings of the ship —grounded at a depth of 17 meters—, where the rescuers are trying to contain the fuel that is inside the barriers and clean it with specialized anti-pollution vessels.
Since the OS35 began to spill oil on Thursday of last week, part of the slick escaped the barriers and reached different points on the coast of Gibraltar and the Poniente beach in La Línea de la Concepción.
"Everything indicates that the amount of floating veil continues to be significantly reduced," the Government of Gibraltar pointed out this Thursday afternoon.
Despite this, and after days without arrivals, significant globules have been recorded in Sandy Bay.
Beyond the spills, the Muti Cat Nero ship has removed up to five sacks of objects from the ship that could become polluting garbage.
In the port, the maritime captain ordered this Wednesday the staggered restoration of port activities, except for refueling, precisely those that report the most ship traffic to the infrastructure.
It is yet to be decided how the bulk carrier will be recovered from its location.
The ship is loaded with steel bars and warped in the middle, since on Monday night she collided with a methane tanker that was anchored in the port.
Now it remains to be seen what will be the most suitable decision to be able to withdraw the ship.
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