New oil leak reported after a ferry that ran aground repeatedly off the Swedish coast is pulled free

2023-11-01 19:45

A ferry that had ran aground last month off southeastern Sweden, leaking oil into the Baltic Sea, has been pulled free and anchored nearby

STOCKHOLM (AP) — A ferry that ran aground off southeastern Sweden and leaked oil into the Baltic Sea was pulled free Wednesday and anchored nearby, the Swedish Coast Guard said, adding that a new oil leak had been discovered.

It was unclear how much oil had been leaked as Marco Polo, operated by TT-Line of Germany, was freed from its third grounding. Authorities said the spill currently stretches over 5 kilometers (3 miles) out at sea.

The plan was to inspect the ferry’s hull and pump out the remaining oil while anchored at sea. Earlier, Sweden's coast guard said it had suffered “extensive damage” and would eventually be tugged into the Swedish harbor of Karlshamn.

On Oct. 22, Marco Polo was running between Trelleborg and Karlshamn when it touched ground, sustained damage and started leaking. It continued under its own power before grounding a second time. On Sunday, it slipped off the ground because of severe weather, drifted further out, got stuck for a third time and leaked more oil.

The 75 people on board, both passengers and crew, had been evacuated, and the ferry was not at risk of sinking despite taking on water, the Swedish Coast Guard said.

The successive groundings released slicks of fuel that eventually reached the shores of Pukavik Bay near Solvesborg, some 110 kilometers (70 miles) northeast of Malmo, Sweden’s third-largest city.

More than 500 birds are estimated to have been affected by the oil that washed onto the coast, Swedish public broadcaster SVT said.

Dozens of cubic meters of oil and oil waste have been removed so far. Swedish news agency TT said that an estimated 50 cubic meters (almost 1,800 cubic feet) have been picked up.

The Swedish Coast Guard said it was not known how much oil that has been leaked from Marco Polo, but the damaged fuel tanks contained approximately 160 cubic meters (5,650 cubic feet) of oil before the accident.

Swedish prosecutors have handed down fines to the captain and an officer who was in charge at the time of the grounding, saying they acted recklessly by relying on a faulty GPS.