Major oil spill spreads across Grand Harbour

Photos received by MaltaToday show the extent to which an oil spill originating in Rinella Bay had spread far into Grand Harbour by Thursday afternoon, leaving a layer of diesel over a large area reaching all the way up to Lascaris Wharf.

The Environment Resources Authority (ERA) said that, upon being informed of the spill, it had dispatched officers to Rinella Bay and immediately advised Transport Malta and the Civil Protection Department, which are the authorities in charge of coordinating the management of oil spills.

The Authority said it had ordered that the waste oil gathered in the cleanup be transported by a registered waste carrier to a permitted waste management facility for treatment.

It said officials were determining whether other sites had also been affected.

MaltaToday reader said there was no oil spill recovery vessels on site except for one lone pilot boat

But photos taken by a MaltaToday reader with 42 years experience in the maritime industry clearly show the spill had spread into Grand Harbour.

“I am really surprised at the lack of response,” he said. “No oil spill prevention or control vessels and no clean up, nothing at all.”

The reader said it was evident the spill covered the whole of the harbour.

“This is a disgrace to the environment and an affront to due diligence or environmental affairs,” he said.