10 thousand heating oil in water. Major fuel leak from icebreaker

About 10 thousand liters of fuel oil leaked from an icebreaker tug into the port basin of Kemi at the tip of the Gulf of Bothnia. Most of the spill was collected, but the removal of contaminants was hampered by heavy ice in the bay, the Lapland rescue services reported on Friday.

The accident occurred while the tug was refueling. The spill was significant, but estimated to be limited mainly to the area around the port of Agios in the city of Kemi.

– Possible impacts on the marine environment will be monitored through regular sampling. The border guard is also investigating the matter, the statement said.

According to experts, collecting stains of petroleum products from ice is more difficult than from water due to, among others, difficulties with installing mechanical collectors – brushes and dams, as well as the possibility of leakage penetrating under the ice.

This year, in February, the largest amount of ice in Finland's coastal waters has been observed in about 15 years. In the north, in the waters of the Gulf of Bothnia in the Tornio region near Kemi, the ice is about 75 cm thick, i.e. almost twice as thick as in the south of the country, in the Gulf of Finland. (PAP)

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