A South Korean captain of an LPG tanker has been charged in court in Gibraltar following an oil spill in the British overseas territory earlier this month.
Kim Sangsob, 56, was charged with one count of “discharge into or allows escaping into, British Gibraltar Territorial waters oil of any description and one count of damaging a resting place of a wild animal of a European protected species”.
The alleged incident occured on the morning of 1 August 2023 when the tanker took on fuel a short distance from the South Mole.
The spill was of heavy fuel oil and some of it washed ashore in Gibraltar, causing the temporary closure of Camp Bay and Rosia Bay.
The captain was charged following an investigation by Royal Gibraltar Police Marine Section officers, with assistance from the Gibraltar Port Authority and the Department of the Environment.
However, Gibraltar authorities were forced to appeal to the local community for a Korean speaker to assist with the enquiry.
Sangsob was released on bail and is due to appear before the magistrate’s court on 25 August.
The vessel involved has been named as the Gas Venus, but few other details about the vessel have been disclosed. Shipping databases show at least five LPG carriers with that name.
The vessel was released from detention on 10 August after a cash bond of £1.5m ($1.9m) was paid to the Gibraltar Port Authority to ensure that the costs of all oil spill response and cleanup operations are covered.
Gibraltar describes itself as the largest bunkering port in the Mediterranean with marine fuel sales of about 4m tonnes per year.
