An oil slick 1.5 kilometres long and 4 metres wide has reached the beaches of Algeciras following the accident on Wednesday involving a Liberian registered container ship.
The ‘MSC Shenzhen’, flying the Liberian flag, was entering dry dock for repairs when it hit a wall, rupturing the hull and damaging one of the fuel tanks. Although most of the spilled fuel ended up in the dry dock due to steps taken at the time, some did spill into the sea and has now reached the beaches of Algeciras.
Meanwhile, a criminal complaint has been made against the owners of the vessel for damage to the environment and compensation of €1.5 million is being sought as compensation. This includes a bond of €500,000 for the purpose of cleaning up the oil spill.