PORTUGAL: WORKERS BEGIN CLEANING UP OIL-HIT BEACHES AFTER A TANKER HITS A ROCK AND SPILLS 1,000 TONNES OF CRUDE INTO SEA

Record ID: 344779

  • Title: PORTUGAL: WORKERS BEGIN CLEANING UP OIL-HIT BEACHES AFTER A TANKER HITS A ROCK AND SPILLS 1,000 TONNES OF CRUDE INTO SEA
  • Date: 3rd October 1994
  • Summary: OPORTO, PORTUGAL (OCTOBER 3, 1994) 1. GV/TRACK/SV BOOMS SPREAD ACROSS HARBOUR TRYING TO CONTAIN OIL (2 SHOTS) 0.16 2. CU,PAN OIL ON WATER 0.23 3. GV/SV/PAN OIL WASHED UP ON BEACH 0.34 4. ZOOM-OUT/GV/SV PANS CLEAN-UP TEAMS SCRAPING OIL OFF BEACH (4 SHOTS) 0.56 5. GV PILE OF CONTAMINATED SAND ON BEACH 0.59 6. SLV/ZOOM-OUT/GV BULLDOZER SHOVELLING OIL-CONTAMINATED SAND (3 SHOTS) 1.20 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
  • Embargoed: 18th October 1994 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: OPORTO, PORTUGAL
  • City:
  • Country: Portugal
  • Reuters ID: LVA9EC59AZA1K2H5EWS7XXATNKB8
  • Story Text: Workers began cleaning up oil-hit beaches in northern Portugal on Monday (October 3), 24 hours after a tanker hit a rock and spilled about 1,000 tonnes (tons) of crude into the sea.

    The Panamanian-registered Cercal punctured one of its tanks as it tried to enter Leixoes harbour in the city of Oporto on Sunday with a cargo of 82,000 tonnes (tons) of Algerian crude. The ship later moved offshore where the leak was stopped.

    The accident left an oil slick 20 kms (12 miles) long that covered one large beach with tar and threatened to pollute several others.

    Leixoes harbour was temporarily closed, when a boom was positioned across its entrance to prevent oil coming in. A port spokesman said the boom was removed and shipping movements resumed on Monday morning.

    Clean-up workers shovelled black oil-soaked sand into a trailer drawn by a tractor along the worst affected beach at Leca da Palmeira.

    A Spanish tug was called in to help disperse the slick offshore. Port officials said the slick was breaking up easily.

    Entry to Leixoes, a man-made port eight kms (five miles) north of the Douro estuary, is known to be difficult.

    Supertankers have been banned from the port since the Danish-registered crude carrier Jackob Maersk ran aground as it tried to enter in 1975, killing four people, spilling oil and starting a fire that took two days to put out.


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