Nota en la prensa gibraltareña: "gibfocus"18-enero-2007:

Gibraltar Government states Greek vessel does not pose a risk

Following a day of deliberations and discussions over the stricken Greek Tanker Samothiaki which hit the Europa Point reef sustaining damage to its hull the Government have tonight stated that the vessel poses no risk. In a statement issued on behalf of the Minister for the Port Joe Holliday, a spokesman today explained, "The Greek Tanker “SAMOTHRAKI” arrived 1 mile East of Gibraltar to carry out an Off Port Limit crew change on 17th March 2007 at approximately 0130hrs. Whilst waiting for the agent’s launch to transfer technicians on to the tanker, the vessel ran aground off Europa Point in Gibraltar. On going full astern, the master managed to free the vessel causing damage to the bottom plating of the double hull skin. "The master of the vessel reported the serious incident to the Gibraltar Port Authority, which immediately activated its Port Emergency Plan. The Captain of the Port and the two Senior Port Officers were immediately joined by representatives of GIBUNCO, Brightside, Smith Imossi (Ship’s Agents), SORT, JAVA Oil, TP Towage and the Environment Agency at the Gibraltar Port Office Command and Control Room. The Gibraltar Pilot and a Port Officer were deployed together with three tugs from the Port of Gibraltar & one from MOD. The Port of Algeciras deployed one tug at the request of the Captain of the Port of Gibraltar in case the need arose. Two maritime surveyors from the Gibraltar Maritime Administration, together with the Class surveyor and a P+I representative also attended. "The vessel is a double hull tanker of 27793 grt loaded with 44000 tons of fuel oil and had a 17° list to starboard. The circumstances at the time, led to the decision by the Captain of the Port to anchor the vessel in shallow water. Due to the nature of the vessel’s cargo, oil spill response equipment was put on standby in case there was a need to boom the vessel and avert a major oil spill. Oil Spill Response Ltd Southampton ( a oil spill response specialist that is contracted by the Gibraltar Port Authority in the event of a major oil spill ) was also put on notice. "At first light, divers were deployed to inspect the damage and a full inspection was carried out by the Gibraltar Maritime Surveyors, who reported that the vessel was now out of immediate danger and the cargo was safe. The Gibraltar Port Authority and Lloyd’s Ship Emergency Response Service assessed the situation and concluded that there was no danger of the vessel sinking or of a cargo spillage. This afternoon the vessel was permitted to shift to a safe anchorage in the Bay of Gibraltar. The Maritime Administration is currently considering with the Gibraltar Port Authority and the owners of the vessel, various options, in dealing with the repairs and cargo. "The Maritime Administration is carrying out a Port State Control on the vessel and will also be conducting an investigation into the grounding of the vessel at Europa Point, as is standard procedure in these circumstances. The public is assured that the vessel is now in a safe condition and there is no risk of an oil spill. At no time was there an oil spillage. "The Minister with responsibility for Shipping and the Port The Hon Joe Holliday, who was kept informed of the incident throughout the night and was in attendance in the Port Command and Control Room said: ‘’this serious incident of a fully laden oil tanker running aground off Europa Point had a great potential for an environmental calamity. Fortunately, this was avoided principally due to the double hull construction of the vessel, the professionalism of the ship’s crew, the Gibraltar Port Authority and other private sector port operators, in the immediate aftermath of the event. The response by the Gibraltar Port Authority to this incident demonstrates the effectiveness of the Emergency Response Plan capability, which worked very well indeed. I would like to express my appreciation on behalf of the Gibraltar Port Authority to all the individuals representing the private sector operators and MOD, who were involved in the incident.”"