Local reports said that an unspecified volume of oil had leaked from the cargo ship, and oil slick has moved to some 8 km from the Belgian shore.
The 8,850-dwt cargo ship Flinterstar was carrying 125 tonnes of diesel and 427 tonnes of fuel oil when it collided with the 210,000 cu m Al Oraiq LNG tanker off the Belgian coast on Tuesday morning.
The tanker has since made it to Belgium’s Zeebrugge port while Flinterstar remains partially submerged. All 12 crew members had been rescued.
The owner of Flinterstar, Dutch firm Flinter, said the vessel is in stable condition and oil spill cleaning is continuing. “Damage to our good Flinterstar much worse than we had hoped for. In only a few minutes she was turned into a wreck,” the company said in a Facebook posting.
A contract to remove all the oil on board was signed and two specialised vessels are on the scene.
Flinter said its focus now is on removing the remaining fuel oil in the ship’s tanks before safely removing the ‘wreck’.
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