A tanker loaded with oil rammed into a dock in the Croatian Port of Ploce, causing significant damage that left the port’s liquid cargo terminal inoperable.
According to local media , the tanker smashed into the dock causing a portion of the quay wall and the unloading infrastructure to fall into the sea and sink.
The vessel in question has been identified as STI Poplar, a Marshall Islands-flagged oil/chemical tanker built in 2014.
Based on the vessel’s latest AIS data from Marine Traffic, it is anchored in the Croatian port, where it arrived from Sarroch, Italy on August 8.
The port authority said that due to the damages inflicted by the collision it has banned utilization of the docking facility.
It is not clear when the terminal will resume operation, however, the authority said it was taking all necessary activities to avoid further damages being inflicted and reopen the docking facility as soon as possible.
The cause of the accident is yet to be determined, however, several causes are being investigated including the role of pilots, tugs that were pulling the vessel into the dock as well as the vessel’s captain and crew.
Since the unloading facility has been closed, oil supply across Dalmatia is likely to be affected, taking into account that other vessels will also have to wait for a solution to be made to unload oil.
World Maritime News is yet to receive a comment from the port authority on how many vessels are pending unloading and what alternatives are being considered for their unloading.
World Maritime News Staff; Image Courtesy: Wikimedia/Quahadi Añtó under CC 3.0 license