John Culatto
PORT tugs watched over the shipwreck on the Gibraltar coast during a weekend of stormy weather that released some more oil into the sea.
The Captain of the Port John Ghio reported to the government’s recovery coordination group that ‘only some light sheening’ came out from the stricken OS 35.
After the storm, tugs replaced the booms around the ship which they had removed before the Levante winds and waves set in during the weekend.
The OS 35 beached 700m off Catalan Bay after a mid-sea collision at the end of August.
“There have been no reports of oiling on beaches as a result of the weekend’s swell,” said the Gibraltar Government in a statement.
Clean-up crews now hope to finish the removal of oil from the remote Seven Sisters beach close to the port by the end of the week.
Department of the Environment and Oil Spill Response Limited experts continue to check beaches for any oil spill effects.
Beaches and swimming areas suffered the biggest hit during the first storm two weeks earlier when the first Levante winds hit the Rock.
A contractor will now remove the sunken ship from its current location within the next six months.
OS 35 owners and insurers will have to pay the full costs of the clean up and recovery operation by the port authorities.
READ MORE:
- Gibraltar port gives owners May 30 ultimatum to remove oil-polluting ship from its coastal grave
- Divers are removing more ‘oil pockets’ from the stricken ship off the Gibraltar coast as cleaning continues
- Gibraltar pushes for negotiation over conflict at UN decolonisation committee in New York
