The Port of Rotterdam has reported that it has made progress in cleaning up the oil spill from the ‘Bow Jubail’ in the third petrol harbour of Rotterdam.
With the help of Rijkswaterstaat, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management of the Netherlands, the port announced on June 26 that it had cleared approximately 150 tonnes of the 200 tonnes of spilled oil, which entered port waters when the tanker punctured its fuel tank due to a mooring accident on June 23.
The Port of Rotterdam Authority, which is coordinating the effort to remove the pollution, said that its initial priority was to clean-up the port’s water and contaminated vessels.
This is taking priority to enable the vessels to enter and leave the ports and for the logistics chain to resume.
The port authority said it expected the clean-up operations would continue for several more days, with a specialist company operating six vessels designed to clear up spills.
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A washing facility has been operational in Geulhaven since the evening of June 24 (shown in the above photo), to clean the over 50 inland vessels, with another washing facility for sea-going vessels opened on the afternoon of June 25 afternoon near buoy 66 in the Botlek area.
After cleaning the port water and the vessels, a start will be made to clean up the contaminated port infrastructure, including jetties, slopes, banks and embankments. This is expected to take at least several weeks.
In its announcement, the port authority said: “The Port of Rotterdam Authority is doing everything it can to release (sections of) the closed areas as quickly as possible.
“The Harbour Master is at the scene to regulate inbound and outbound shipping traffic.
“The Harbour Coordination Center is providing companies, shipping companies, shipping agents and skippers with regular updates on the status of operations.”
