Concern on both sides of the Strait of Gibraltar after a collision between two ships causing a spill. The events took place this Friday after four in the morning, 20 miles from Punta Europa, in Cádiz, and there were no injuries.
The collision occurred between the ships “Southern Puma”, a Liberian-flagged tanker and the bulk carrier “Louisa Bolten”which sails under the flag of the Marshall Islands. The first was damaged on the side and the second on the bow, as confirmed by Maritime Salvage at ABC.
Maritime Rescue mobilized maritime and air resources to the scene of the accident to verify what happened. After certifying that there were no injuries and that both vessels were able to sail, a strong odor “like cleaning products” was detected and collected samples which were transported to the port for analysis.
As confirmed ABC the mayor of Algeciras,José Ignacio Landaluce, This represents approximately 500 cubic meters of paraffin, a substance that ensures evaporation. The spill is directed towards the strait and not towards the coast, according to the city councilor.
Now that it is daylight, the maritime rescue ‘Helimer 220’ has arrived at the scene of the accident. detected a spot in the sea of the ‘Southern Puma’, This is why the maritime harbor inspector was taken to the scene of the collision to see the situation for himself.
The ship was escorted towards Algeciras 12 miles from the coast, where he remains, because he does not have authorization from the Maritime Captaincy to enter the port.
Verdemar-Ecologistas en Acción asked the Maritime Harbor Master’s Office to “identify the effects on the sea” of a “spill of 600 tonnes of paraffin” recorded in the Strait of Gibraltar, although its extent has not yet been confirmed by official sources.
According to ecologists, the “Southern Puma” was “loaded with paraffin” to download in San Roque. It is now looked after by Maritime Rescue.
The environmental organization requests “that the environmental impact that has occurred in the Strait of Gibraltar since this morning be assessed. According to Verdemar, “Paraffins are extracted from distilled crude oil and damage the environment”, therefore “this spill could harm hundreds of marine species which frequent this area of the Strait of Gibraltar and the Alboran Sea”, warns the environmental organization.
