Oil tanker runs aground in Gulf of Finland

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An oil tanker carrying over 7,500 tonnes of naphtha was approaching the harbour at Neste Oil's Kilpilahti (Sköldvik) refinery near Porvoo in Southern Finland on Sunday morning when it became stuck on the rocks ten metres offshore, just 200 metres from the refinery jetty.
      The Weserstern suffered slight damage and took on a small amount of water, but thanks to the ship's double hull, there was no oil spill into the sea. Moreover, no one involved was reported to have sustained any injuries, nor was there any danger of an explosion.
     
Towards evening, the tanker was towed off the rocks by tugs and transferred to the dock to be unloaded.
      While Neste Oil's tugboat together with a vessel from the Coast Guard were performing surveillance at the scene, divers tried to locate potential damage to the ship.
     
No definite cause for the incident could be established yet on Sunday. Both a technical fault and human error were seen as possible. However, breath tests carried out on the crew proved that at least alcohol played no role in the incident.
      Maritime Inspector Ilkka Salminen from the Finnish Maritime Administration reports that divers are to examine the hull of the tanker again on Monday.
     
The tanker, registered in the Isle of Man, was carrying its cargo for Borealis, a leading supplier of polyethylene and polypropylene, whose raw materials are transported through the Neste harbour.


Links:
  The Finnish Maritime Administration
  The Gulf of Finland Coast Guard

Helsingin Sanomat