A German-controlled cargo ship must pay a financial guarantee over a fuel oil spill off the port of Ceuta, a Spanish enclave in North Africa.
Spanish media said the port captain has detained the 15,300-dwt Tony Stark (built 1993) pending the payment of a €120,000 ($130,500) guarantee.
Named after Marvel’s Iron Man comics and film character, the Antigua & Barbuba-flagged vessel has to hand over €100,000 for the alleged pollution.
A further €20,000 is required to cover expenses incurred by maritime rescue ships and planes, Spanish media reported.
The ship will not be able to resume its voyage until the guarantee is received.
The master must also submit a report detailing the cause of the accident and outlining measures to avoid similar incidents.
AIS data shows the Tony Stark arrived at the port on 18 July. It has remained at anchor following the pollution incident.
El Faro de Ceuta website said the incident happened during bunkering operations 2 km off the coast on Thursday.
A containment boom was placed around the ship later that day.
Fuel oil has been spotted off the beaches of Benitez and San Amaro, as well as at the port breakwaters.
Pollution response ships from local operator Ecoceuta were pressed into service.
A refuelling barge was disconnected from the vessel the same day.
Increased bunkering
German owner NautiCore Shipping has been contacted for comment.
Environmental group Septem Nostra told El Faro de Ceuta: “There is a temptation to turn Ceuta into an important port for bunkering, but the more activity of this type is carried out, the greater the chances of accidents.
“This must be taken into account because it has been shown to have its risks, not because things are done badly.”
The Tony Stark has a clean port state control record in terms of safety detentions.
In Greece in April, two deficiencies were found: oil filtering equipment and the availability of fire fighting equipment were not as required.
In January, the 4,800-dwt NautiCore ship Indiana Jones (built 1989) was detained in the UK with 21 deficiencies, including eight grounds for detention.
Inspectors found inoperative steering gear and a cracked hull impairing seaworthiness.
Rescue boats were not ready for use and there were faults with their launching arrangements.
