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Gibraltar in pollution plan push
Richard Meade and Brian Reyes, Gibraltar - Tuesday 21 October 2008
The Fedra.
The expert co-ordination of emergency rescue services from Gibraltar and Spain displayed in the operation to save the lives of the 31 crew aboard the wrecked bulker Fedra proved that progress has been made, Mr Holliday told Lloyd’s List.
He said, however, that the incident once again highlighted the need to formalise a pollution plan for the whole of Gibraltar.
He also confirmed that the issue had been pushed high on the agenda at the next tri-lateral government talks.
“The bay of Gibraltar is a very busy and congested area — the time is long overdue for there to be proper shipping lanes,” he said.
“At the end of the day we are all very close to each other in a very busy shipping area. I think we should have an anti-pollution plan in place so that if we do come across an accident of a tier 3 level we will all know what our resources are and how we can act in unison, rather than running like headless chickens trying to sort out the problems.”
The Fedra grounding, which began on October 10, has re-opened the debate about the need for tighter controls on shipping in the area. But it has also illustrated in a very graphic way that Gibraltar and Spain have made significant progress in the sphere of maritime co-operation.
“Without co-operation we may not have been as successful as we were,” Mr Holliday said in reference to the epic rescue operation that involved emergency services from both Spain and Gibraltar.
Investigations into the cause of the accident by the Gibraltar police and Maritime Administration are still under way, but it now appears Fedra was at anchorage carrying out repairs on its engine, part of which was dismantled at the time of the casualty. This left the ship effectively dead in the water as the storm approached.
Sources have confirmed that Fedra’s master had not communicated this information to the port, which is an offence under port rules.
The master and two officers have already been arrested on suspicion of contravening port regulations.
All were released on police bail without charge and are due to report back to New Mole House police station on Thursday. Lloyd’s List understands that charges are expected to made against all three.
Meanwhile, salvors refloated the bulk carrier Tawe on Monday, ten days after it ran aground in severe weather off Algeciras.
Two tugs, Artico and Sertosa 8, towed the ship into deeper water under following a salvage plan drawn up by Svitzer S Wijsmuller.
Prior to refloating the ship, salvors removed around 150 tonnes of bunker fuel.
The vessel is believed to have some damage to its hull and has been towed to the Cernaval ship repair yard in nearby Campamento.
The 1987-built, 24,646 gt Tawe dragged anchors in the same storm that caused the Fedra to run aground.
According to local press reports the container vessel Narvik registered gusts of wind of up to 180 km per hour during the 24-hour storm, the equivalent of a grade two hurricane.
Over in Gibraltar, salvors are still assessing the wreck of the Fedra and drawing up a plan to remove it from Europa Point.
Most of the fuel oil spilt during the casualty has now been mopped up.
* Click here to watch video footage of the Fedra grounding.
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