The Coast Guard said Hafnia’s 2008-built tanker discharged oil into the Mississippi River near Kenner, Louisiana, outside of New Orleans in the United States.
Coast Guard Sector New Orleans was alerted to the oil spill Friday evening (29 June) local time and said the oil spill occurred during a fuelling operation with a fuel barge at Ama Anchorage at mile marker 115. Coast Guard pollution responders attended the scene on the West Bank of the Mississippi River.
“The crew of Hafnia Rhine secured the oil discharge, but Sector New Orleans pollution investigators estimate up to 9,500 litres of fuel oil entered the water and contaminated approximately 50-60 barges in the vicinity,” the Coast Guard said.
Hafnia released a statement regarding the incident.
“When the alarm was raised, there was an emergency stop on all bunkering operations. The crew immediately activated the Vessel Response Plan to limit any further loss of fuel. Regrettably, an undetermined amount spilled onto the deck, with a quantity lost overboard into the water. The crew isolated and cleaned the affected area on the deck of the ship,” the Hafnia statement said.
“The United States Coast Guard, flag state (Singapore), together with all relevant authorities and parties, were notified immediately and the vessel mobilised its Qualified Individual incident response service, with a professional spill response team on scene. Hafnia is working with [US] federal and state agencies in the ongoing clean-up operation under an approved plan.”
Oil spill removal contracts were awarded to the National Response Corp and Environmental Safety and Health Consulting Services. The Coast Guard reported the organisations have placed 823 m of containment booms and 1,012 m of sorbent booms (made from absorbent material that soaks up oil, but not water) around the affected area including the contaminated vessels and have utilised additional sorbent materials to recover the oil product.
The Coast Guard said it is “committed to overseeing a timely cleanup of oil to mitigate environmental impacts through its co-ordination with partner agencies and the continued assessment of shorelines and waterways”.
There have been no reports of impact to wildlife, and the cause of the discharge remains under investigation, according to the Coast Guard.
Source: https://www.rivieramm.com/news-content-hub/hafnia-tanker-involved-in-bunker-oil-spill-in-mississippi-river-72241