Boxship Hit By Pilot Boat Spills Oil
On May 8th Local time around 0800 hrs, a pilot boat hit the 5,782 teu CMA CGM boxship, Bellini. The hull of the vessel was breached in fuel tank area. Fuel started to leak at the rate of 100 liters per minute. Over 50 rescuers were employed in cleaning the contamination. Fuel was pumped out from breached tank while it was docking at the Waltershofer Hafen, Hamburg. The fuel was spilled around five cubic metres.
No clear reports about the quantity of spillage and cleaning operations are underway.
Source: MOPO
Dear MFAME Editor,
I have been witness, unfortunatly no few times, of many spillages of fuel oil into the sea waters, in the Port where I have been working already from many years ago.
As the fuel oil tanks are fitted with steam coils for heating and the shell plates of the tanks use to be in contact with either the sea or the air(Now days is mandatory to be constructed separated) and also with ballast tanks, the diference in temperature through the thikness of the plates creates micro diferences of voltage among the parts of the plates and this fact develops micro- electrical currents with the help of the conductivity of the salt wáter (closed circuit) and therefore the parts of the plates that lost electrons are prone to be corroded. All the above together with the acid components of the fuel oil, that attack by pitting and platting the steel plates, boost and increase the corrosion.
Hi Farthiw,
at this moment we do not have sufficient information on fuel tank plate thickness.
May we request you to share some information on how fuel tank plates are subjected to pronounced corrosion?
Was the thickness of the plate sufficient?. Fuel tank plates are subject to pronounced corrosión.
The pilots use to be in hurry all the time around the clock. Speedy Gonzales. Time is money.