Costa de la Luz
Oil spill from container ship reaches a beach in Algeciras
By m.p. - Oct 29, 2009 - 12:02 PM
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Cleanup on the Playa de la Concha in Algeciras after a previous spillage two years ago - EFE
The spillage came from the MSC Schenzhen after colliding with a dock on Wednesday
A cleanup operation is underway in Algeciras after a Liberian container ship, the MSC Schenzhen, suffered an accident while entering the Cernaval dry dock, in Campamento, San Roque, on Wednesday morning. The vessel’s collision with the dock breached the ship’s hull, causing it to shed between one and two cubic metres of fuel.
The spillage reached El Rinconcillo beach in Algeciras, where El Mundo said 1,500 metres of the beach had been affected.
The city’s Mayor, Tomás Herrera, has announced that City Hall’s legal department planned to make a claim to the courts for 1.5 million € damages.
The docking operation was completed following the accident and the entrance to Carnaval sealed to prevent any more fuel leaking into Algeciras Bay. An investigation is underway.