EMEA News
Gibraltar Port Operations May Resume on Wednesday After OS 35 Fuel Spill
Port operations in Gibraltar may resume on Wednesday after a week's suspension following the fuel spill from the stricken bulk carrier OS 35.
Gibraltar's government has stepped down from its major incident posture following the spill, it said in a statement on its website on Tuesday.
"The Captain of the Port has advised that the situation remains stable and, with the majority of the fuel now extracted from the vessel, that the operation is now moving from the emergency stage to its recovery phase," the government said in the statement.
"The Captain of the Port is considering the re-opening of regular Port operations tomorrow if he is satisfied that the Port has the resources and resilience at its disposal to respond any difficulties that it may experience due to normal bunkering operations.
"Detailed plans for this are already in the advanced stage."
The hull of the Tuvalu-flagged bulker OS 35 broke on August 31 after it collided with the ADAM LNG in Gibraltar the previous day, the territory's government said last week. The government subsequently declared the collision and its consequences a major incident under the provision of the Civil Contingencies Act, and port operations have been suspended since August 31.
The ship had 183 mt of heavy fuel oil, 250 mt of marine diesel oil and 27 mt of lubricants on board at the time of the collision, as well as its cargo of steel rebars.
