Hole in cargo ship – Gibraltar authorities prepare for oil spill

The OS 35, flying the flag of Tuvalu, was therefore aground in shallow water off the east coast of the British Overseas Territory at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula. Authorities feared an oil spill should the ship sink. They are working on a plan to pump hundreds of tons of diesel and heavy fuel oil aboard the freighter.

Floating booms erected
It has 183 tons of heavy fuel oil, 250 tons of diesel and 27 tons of lube oil in its tanks, the government of Gibraltar said Tuesday. As a precaution, floating booms were placed between the freighter and the beach.

Large hole found in hull
The freighter OS 35 landed on its bow in calm seas on Tuesday – about 200 meters from the beach at Catalan Bay. Divers found a ten by four meter hole in the hull below the waterline, GBS radio station reported. The bow sank about five feet into the sand on the seabed.

The crew of 24 were on board and there was no danger to life as they could be picked up by nearby ships at any time, local media reported, citing the harbor master. A team of ship salvage experts from the Netherlands was on their way to Gibraltar, reports news site YGTV.

Cause of collision still unknown
It has not been disclosed why the OS 35, which was on its way to the Dutch port of Vlissingen, rammed the liquefied gas tanker Adam LNG at anchor on Monday afternoon. The 289-meter gas tanker flying the flag of the Marshall Islands was largely undamaged in the collision. According to radio station GBS, he only got a neat dent in his hull.

Gibraltar is a British Overseas Territory located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula. About 35,000 people live in the country.