The Tunisian-flagged RoRo Ulysse, which collided with an anchored boxship a week ago , has been allowed to set sail for Tunisia.
The two ships were locked together for five days in order to avoid further damages and pollution of the environmnet before being disentangled on October 11.
The permission to leave the collision scene was granted after the ship’s class society determined that the vessel was in sound condition to sail.
On the other hand, the damaged boxship CSL Virginia, remains anchored some 28 kilometres north-west of Cape Corsica, according to the latest update from the Maritime Prefecture of the Channel and the Mediterranean.
An anti-pollution boom remains positioned around the vessel’s breached hull. The boxship sprung a fuel leak as a result of the collision as the impact caused its fuel tanks to rupture.
It is now up to the owner to take the necessary measures to tow the stricken vessel to a shipyard for necessary repairs.
With regard to oil spill recovery, French maritime authorities said that based on the data from air surveillance there are no longer significant fuel patches detected in the sea. Anti-pollution ships dispatched to the scene have collected over 1,000 cbm of fuel oil mixed with seawater.
It is estimated that of the 600 cbm fuel oil that leaked from the vessel, 30 pct had evaporated by now. The Maritime Prefecture said that less than 2 pct of the spilled fuel remains in the water.
The remaining thick fuel oil has formed into pockets which are being tracked and cleaned up by anti-pollution vessels on the scene.
World Maritime News Staff