The Gibraltar Maritime Accident Investigation Compliance Officer has appointed an “independent and experienced UK accident investigator” under the Gibraltar Merchant Shipping Regulations (Notices and Investigations). 2012 (Gibraltar Merchant Shipping Regulations (Accident Reporting and Investigation) 2012), to investigate the collision of the bulk carrier OS 35 and the LNG ship ADAM on August 29, 2022.

Investigators have arrived in Gibraltar and have already examined the evidence presented to him. “The sole purpose of the investigation under the regulation is the prevention of future accidents by determining their cause and circumstances.”

The investigator’s report will seek to analyze the safety issues related to the accident and will seek to make recommendations designed to prevent similar accidents in the future.

Fishing under supervision

Following the advice of the Director of Public Health, “As a result of the presence of oil, the Gibraltar Department of the Environment has temporarily suspended all fishing activities in Gibraltar waters as a precaution. This will include a temporary halt to the bluefin tuna fishing season.”

The Council of the Ministry of Health and Consumption, through the Directorate General of Public Health, has established a protocol for action and supervision of the Algeciras Bay area due to the bulk ship spill in Gibraltar. Among other measures, special oversight of bathing waters and fish markets is in place if releases from barns in Gibraltar affect coastlines or fishing grounds.

In this way, monitoring and verification of bathing areas on both sides of Batu has been established to detect the possible effects of this spill and “official controls will be intensified at the La Línea and Algeciras fish markets, to determine which fishing areas are currently used by the fishing fleet, as well as production areas and which shellfish molluscs are caught”.

In this regard, preparations are underway to enable, if necessary, sampling of fishery products and shellfish caught or obtained from fishing areas that could be affected. All these actions are coordinated with the Ministry of Sustainability, Environment and Blue Economy.

spanish support

The chief minister, Fabián Picardo, appreciated the “positive and supportive conversation” with the president of the Junta de Andalucía, Juan Manuel Moreno Bonilla, the president of Diputación de Cádiz and the mayor of San Roque, Juan Carlos Ruiz Boix, and the Mayor of La Línea, Juan Franco, “with regard to efforts the clean-up that Gibraltar has carried out so far.”

At 1900 hours on Friday, 80 tonnes of low-sulfur fuel oil had been removed from Tank 2. The remainder, around 16 tonnes, is expected to be successfully discharged in the next few hours. Emptying tank 2 indicates the removal of more than one third of the low sulfur fuel oil from OS 35.

Early Saturday morning, preparations began to empty tank 1 with a total capacity of 126 tons of low-sulfur fuel oil. While preparations for operations to remove fuel from tank 1 continue, the Ports of Gibraltar Authority (GPA) wants to take advantage of this period to place a new diamond-shaped barrier around the vessel to better contain oil that could leak. The process of placing these barriers is complex, involves multiple assets, and can take 12 hours or more.

Cleaning on the East side of the Rock

The 2 J Formation continues to work on the east side to deal with the remnants of the oil spill that began to drift to the northeast due to two-way currents in the area.

“This is a clear demonstration of the challenges facing cleanup operations and the importance of concentrating GPA priorities on extracting oil from ships. A diversion barrier has been deployed north of Catalan Bay.”