Spain Detains Cargo Ship Over Fuel Spill Near Ceuta

MADRID, July 22 (Reuters) – 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.

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.

The Tony Stark’s German-based operator NautiCore Shipping did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

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 aspill washed up on a 2-km (1.2-mile) line of sand. The cause was not immediately clear. 

($1 = 0.9194 euros)

(Reporting by Emma Pinedo and Jonathan Saul; editing by Barbara Lewis)

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