A cargo ship has leaked 10,000 litres of oil on the Albert Canal in Olen. The oil slick has spread over several kilometres across the entire width of the canal and a clean-up operation is under way.
The incident occurred in the early evening at the lock complex in Olen, Antwerp province. Shortly after a cargo ship sailed upstream through the lock, it began to leak oil. 10,000 litres ended up in the water before the leak could be stopped.
Staff of a specialised company were cleaning up a red-green sludge on Thursday morning.
“It really is a major pollution incident,” said Hasko Van den Ende of Brabo Maritime Services, which is carrying out the clean-up work. “The costs for the economy and the environment are high, especially because the slick is several kilometres long.”
Brabo is working to contain and suck up the oil using absorption and filtering devices. The work is likely to continue until Thursday evening, and it is not yet clear when traffic will be able to resume.
The shipping police have questioned the skipper to determine how the leaked happened.