The shipowner will be able to free the ship only against a guarantee of approximately 34 million euros
The oil tanker Mare Doricum of the Fratelli d’Amico Armatori fleet was placed under conservative seizure by the Peruvian authorities following the spill in recent days due to the waves generated by the eruption of the volcano on the island of Tonga almost 10 thousand kilometers away. . The Corriere della Sera website reports this, explaining that to free the ship, the Roman shipping company would have to deposit a guarantee of approximately 34 million euros.
Mare Doricum was stopped pending ascertaining whether and what responsibilities it may have in the substantial spill of hydrocarbons that occurred during the unloading of Brazilian crude oil (coming from a Brazilian Petrobras plant) underway a week ago in the Ventanilla plants serving of the La Pampilla refinery of the Spanish Repsol. The pollution occurred and was followed by a prolonged series of anomalous waves that led to the oil spill with consequent damage to the coasts and in particular to a marine reserve that is nearby. The equivalent of about 6,000 barrels of oil was lost at sea
The Fratelli d’Amico Armatori company informed SHIPPING ITALY that it was not responsible for what happened, explaining the following: “During the unloading operation on Saturday 15 January, at the La Pampilla Terminal – Callao, Peru, following the breakdown of the terminal’s submarine oil pipeline, an oil stain was noticed in the vicinity of the ship. At around 5:25 pm local time, the onboard watch staff promptly informed the First Officer, who immediately stopped the unloading operations and ensured that the manifold valves were closed. The anti-pollution emergency plan (Sopep – Shipboard Oil Pollution Emergency Plan) was immediately activated from the ship and the competent authorities were informed “.
For the shipowner, therefore, the pollution would be attributable to a rupture of the submarine pipeline for which no responsibility could lie with the oil tanker or its crew.
The president of the council of ministers of the Peruvian government, Mirtha Vasquez, explained that investigations are underway to determine the causes and responsibilities of the pollution produced by a ‘black tide’ that affects a total of three square kilometers of sea and coast. Speaking of the kidnapping, Vasquez specified that, in case he wanted to abandon his position, Fratelli D’Amico Armatori would have to deposit a deposit of 150 million new sols (about 34 million euros). For her part, Repsol also ensured its full participation in the containment and clean-up operations of the marine and coastal space, recalling that in her opinion the accident was caused by completely anomalous and unpredictable circumstances
