Maersk Containership Spills Fuel Off Barcelona During Bunkering Operations

Photo: MarineTraffic.com/Pedro Amaral

Cleanup is underway off Spain after a Maersk containership spilled fuel oil during bunkering operations Tuesday night.

Spain’s maritime emergency agency Salvamento Maritimo reports that it was informed by crew of the MV Nele Maersk of an accidental spill that occurred during routine fuel transfer operations Tuesday night while approximate 140 km (87 miles) from Barcelona. 

Salvamento Maritimo said it mobilized several assets to area to survey, contain and cleanup the fuel oil spill and mitigate any impacts to the environment. The agency did not provide any estimates on exactly how much fuel had spilled.

The MV Nele Maersk was bound for Genoa, Italy with 21 crew members when the incident occurred. The incident has been reported to the port of Genoa and Denmark, the flag state of the containership.

The Harbour Master of Barcelona enabled the National Maritime Plan at level 1, Salvamento Maritimo said.

The 30,000 DWT MV Nele Maersk was underway in the Ligurian Sea as of 11:20 a.m. EDT on Wednesday, according to AIS data from MarineTraffic.com.