Port Collision

On the 10th of November at 13.00h there was a collision between a passenger ferry and a cargo ship/freighter, which resulted in a rupture of the ferry’s fuel tank and an oil spill of 3,000 litres.
The Euroferry, which had no passengers onboard, was carrying out engine tests when control of the ship was lost as mooring cables snapped and it swung into the cargo ship that was having its cargo of wheat loaded. The ferry had been fully moored for a long stay as these tests had been scheduled there. Fortunately, there were no dockers working on the dry-bulk freighter at the time of the collision.
Thanks to the prompt action of sealing the port with floating barriers, very little of the fuel escaped from the confines of the dock. Even so, work to clean up the spill didn’t finish until six o’clock the next morning, with all involved working throughout the night. All told, 30,000 litres of water and fuel were pumped out of the dock.
The small streaks of fuel that reached the open sea were monitored by aircraft and ended up on Carchuna beach.
The very next day the port authorities began an investigation into the incident, which was captured on port security cameras, to determine responsibilities and possible sanctions.
One final note: the tank that was ruptured was the auxiliary one; the main one has double thickness walls.

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