Wrecking of container carrier Maersk Vienna (flag of Cyprus) at the 82nd berth of the port of Baltijsk (Kaliningrad region) caused leakage of over 23 cubic meters of heavy fuel oil, PortNews IAA learnt from Leonid Khasiev, acting Director General of Baltic Basin Response Department (BBRD), which is responsible for the North-West region including Kaliningrad region. For the moment being the divers of the BBRD have stuffed the hole caused by the accident. Heavy fuel oil is still being collected. According to the head of the regional subdivision, this work may take two more days. About 2 cubic meters of heavy fuel oil has not been collected yet. “Our subdivision operating in Kaliningrad includes 4 persons being ready to response within 2 hours,” Khasiev tells. BBRD was informed at 08:15 (Moscow time). The response activities were started at 9:50. The first vessel to come to the site was the Pribrezhny motor ship. It placed booms and started collecting heavy fuel oil. The majority of oil spill was collected by НМС-41, oil garbage disposal vessel. All in all the operation involved three units of equipment including diving boat VRD as well as LAMOR skimmer and sorbent. The group involved in the operation included fourteen persons.
23 cubic meters of heavy fuel oil collected in Baltijsk (Kaliningrad region)
The accident happened on February 4, about 06:10 (Moscow time) in the course of mooring at the 82nd berth of the port of Baltijsk. The vessel scraped the berth, which resulted in breaking of the vessel’s side and the fuel tank filled with heavy fuel oil. The hole is 80x8 cm. The crew discovered the hole only early in the morning.