Diesel Disaster: Arctic Command Races To Contain Massive Fuel Spill Off Greenland Coast

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Firefighters are battling to contain a diesel spill from the sunken ship Adolf Jensen off Greenland’s coast. Up to 20,000 litres of fuel have leaked into the Nanortalik fjords despite containment efforts. The Danish Navy’s Arctic command is aiding in recovery operations. All crew members were safely evacuated, reports The Times Of India.

After the ship hit a reef and ran aground overnight Wednesday to Thursday, “films of hydrocarbons are visible on the surface of the water in the Nanortalik fjords” in the south, police said.

Ship Features

Thirty-metres-long (98-feet-long) and flying a Greenlandic flag, the ship was carrying 15,000 to 20,000 litres of diesel fuel in its tanks, in addition to 1,000 litres of engine oil.

The environment and civil protection ministry requested assistance from the Arctic command of the Danish Navy to recover and treat the leaked fuel.

All vessels in the area have been asked by the police to “exercise caution and sail slowly to minimise disturbance to the water”.

Contacted by AFP, Rasmus Rasmussen, CEO of the vessel’s owner, 60 North, declined to comment.

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Source: Timesofindia