Port operations in the Mediterranean island of Gibraltar remain suspended following an oil spill incident in the bay earlier this week.
The incident occurred on Tuesday morning in the southern part of the Western Anchorage, when a vessel taking bunkers experienced an overflow of its tanks.
The identity of the vessel involved in the spill was not disclosed.
The Gibraltar Port Authority said it initiated an oil spill contingency plan following the spill. The quantities of oil are currently unquantified.
“We called off all port operations to ensure every asset was available to help combat the spillage and tackle the incident as quickly and as efficiently as possible,” the port authority said.
“Quantifying the amount of oil released into the bay is not currently the main priority as this can be misrepresented at this stage of the clean-up process.
“This data will be gathered throughout, and the final figures will be made available once the clean-up operations have been concluded,” the port authority added.
Early indications that the impact of the oil spill has been limited to the area of Camp Bay and Rosia Bay and its immediate vicinity have been confirmed by drone footage and by a Spanish helicopter overflight.
“There have not been any sightings of any free-floating streaks of oil moving away from this area, however this is being continuously monitored and may change with the tides,” the port authority said.
Gibraltar describes itself as the largest bunkering port in the Mediterranean with marine fuel sales of about 4m tonnes per year.
