Diesel spill in Whitehaven marina

A huge diesel spill in Whitehaven marina at the weekend, led to a section of the harbour being cordoned off until the spill was contained and controlled.

The spill in Whitehaven harbour was noticed on Friday and the lock gates quickly closed to stop the spilled liquid finding its way out to sea. Early estimates on the quantity of spilled diesel estimated the amount to be in the region of two thousand litres.

The north end of the harbour near the Tesco superstore was taped off while the spill response took place. Specialist spill response equipment was used by the response team, including pumps to siphon the liquid out of the water.

The operation carried on into the night, with temporary lighting erected to aid the response. The vessel the diesel spilled from was still being sought late on Friday night, with no vessels allowed to leave the harbour until it had been found. Samples from all vessels have been taken to aid in the search for the vessel responsible. However, this proved to be difficult because of the large number of vessels in the harbour due to the rough conditions at sea last week.