Foreign
A large oil tanker was at risk of sinking on Tuesday after colliding with a vessel carrying liquefied gas off Gibraltar.
The authorities feared an oil spill if the 178-metre-long ship should actually go under.
It has 183 tonnes of heavy fuel oil, 250 tonnes of diesel and 27 tonnes of lubricating oil in its tanks.
The government of the British overseas territory at the southern tip of Spain said early Tuesday.
The Tuvalu-flagged OS 35 bulk carrier had a slight list and its bow was already on the seabed, about 200 metres from Catalan Bay beach on the eastern side of Gibraltar.
The 24-crew members remained on board and there was no danger to their lives, as they can be evacuated by nearby ships at any time, the authorities said.
Divers were to examine the damage to the tanker later Tuesday.
On the ship, which was on its way from Gibraltar to Vlissingen in the Netherlands, 400 meters of oil booms had been put on standby.
The 289-meter-long Marshall Islands-flagged liquefied natural gas tanker ADAM LNG was barely damaged in the collision.
“The vessel OS 35 clipped the vessel ADAM LNG as the former was manoeuvring to exit the bay,’’ one of the updates by the government said.
Some 400 metres of the boom were available on scene ready to be deployed around the vessel in the event of an oil spill, the government said. (dpa/NAN)
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Tags: ADAM LNG Marshall Islands
