PAKISTAN: Pakistani oil barge sinks near Karachi port

An oil barge owned by a private Pakistani firm sank near the country's main port in Karachi, a port official said on Saturday (October 7), and some of the oil on board had begun to leak into the sea. The 25-metre (83 feet) Orion-1 was carrying 65 tonnes of fuel oil and sank about 3 kilometres (2 miles) southwest of the port. He said measures had been taken to prevent oil from leaking from the barge, although some had already seeped into the water. A senior official at the Karachi Port Trust said that the bulk of the 65 tonnes of oil is still contained in the tanks and they are trying to empty them before any major spill happens. A Greek oil tanker Tasman Spirit, carrying 67,500 tonnes of crude oil, ran aground in 2003 after splitting in two outside the channel leading to the port of Karachi, causing the worst spill in Pakistan's history. It lost 28,500 tonnes of crude. The spill blackened several kilometres of beaches, damaged marine life and mangrove forests and caused health problem for people living nearby.

ITN Source | October 8, 2006

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