Spanish authorities have detained a German-operated cargo ship for causing a spill during a refuelling operation near the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, Spain's Merchant Fleet said on Monday, according to Reuters.
The Antigua & Barbuda-flagged Tony Stark ship cannot leave the port on Africa's north coast until the owners pay bail of 120,000 euros ($130,524), it added.
Last week, trails of fuel oil were detected in front of Benitez beach, the breakwaters of the port and San Amaro beach in Ceuta, in the Alboran sea. In a separate statement, the Merchant Fleet estimated the size of the fuel spill was one metric ton. The Merchant Fleet said it opened a disciplinary procedure that will determine the final fine. In a separate incident, three beaches near the eastern city of Valencia were closed last week after fuel from a spill washed up on a 2-km (1.2-mile) line of sand. The cause was not immediately clear.