La Maddalena, tanker leaks during landing: diesel invades the port

The bottom of the tanker hit the ground and a large hole opened up, with diesel fuel spilling onto the dock, invading a good part of the port.

The accident occurred this morning in La Maddalena, during the disembarkation operations of the ferry departing from Palau: the heavy vehicle, which was carrying fuel destined for the island's distributors, hit the ground and all of its contents ended up on the asphalt. Only a small part, through the manholes, reached the sea. But the worst was avoided thanks to the prompt intervention of the Coast Guard, with the military who were already on site to monitor boarding and disembarking: floating barriers were immediately thrown into the water to prevent the slick from spreading.

On land, however, during operations coordinated by the firefighters – also supported by the Civil Protection – piles of sand were unloaded which absorbed the diesel fuel.

Some problems occurred in the immediate aftermath of the accident, but maritime traffic then resumed regularly, with two Coast Guard vessels monitoring the waterway.

Special vehicles are expected from Cagliari and Sassari to clean up the fuel left on the ground.

Enrico Fresu