The Port of Rotterdam Authority Wednesday provided an update on the current bunker spill situation.

The current situation on Wednesday, 27 June, 1.00 pm are as follows:

• The Port of Rotterdam Authority’s initial priority is the clean-up of the port water and contaminated vessels. Priority is being given to this to enable vessels to enter and leave the ports and for the logistics chain to resume.
• Uninterrupted supply and distribution is vital for the business process continuity of companies in the port. For a number of companies in the incident area, a substantial amount of this supply and distribution usually takes place via the 3rd Petroleumhaven. This supply and distribution has been seriously disrupted since Saturday, 23 June 2018 as a consequence of the incident. The Port of Rotterdam Authority is consulting closely with the involved companies to instigate measures to ensure that supply and distribution can be resumed as quickly as possible. When taking such measures, one of the main focus areas is to limit as far as possible any nuisance for local residents and the living environment.
• Approximately 160 tonnes of the 200 tonnes of spilled oil had been cleared by Wednesday morning. The remaining oil is expected to be cleared less quickly. After cleaning the port water and vessels, a start will be made to clean up the contaminated jetties, slopes, banks and other port infrastructure. This is expected to take several weeks.
• A 24/7-capacity washing facility has been established to clean the contaminated vessels. 16 of the over 50 inland vessels have now been cleaned, as have 4 of the 15 contaminated sea-going vessels.
• The vessel involved in the collision with the jetty on Saturday, 23 June 2018 has been towed from its original berth to a shipyard on the opposite side in the Botlek area.
• The collection and cleaning of infected birds is coordinated by Rijkswaterstaat. Follow the live blog for more information: RIJKSWATERSTAAT LIVEBLOG

Related: Bunker spill at Rotterdam, shipowner held responsible
Related: UPDATE: Rotterdam bunker spill
Related: UPDATE 2: Rotterdam bunker spill incident
Related: Odfjell apologies for Rotterdam bunker spill incident

Photo credit: Port of Rotterdam Authority
Published: 28 June 2018