Piraeus Port: Fuel Hose Detaches from Ship, Dousing Passengers with Diesel; Arrests Made

A maritime pollution incident occurred at the Port of Piraeus, Greece, when a fuel supply hose disconnected from a passenger ship during refueling.

The incident took place at gate E4 as a Cyprus-flagged passenger-high-speed craft was being refueled by a tanker truck. A metal connector on the supply hose detached, causing diesel fuel to spray onto the ship's ramp, dousing passengers who were boarding at the time.

The spill contaminated approximately 30 square meters of the pier, and scattered iridescent, self-dissolving slicks totaling about 100 square meters were observed in the ship's berthing area. Ship crew members and personnel from a private anti-pollution company immediately responded to clean up the land-based contamination.

Simultaneously, two Hellenic Coast Guard patrol boats and three private vessels conducted mechanical agitation in the sea area, with the Coast Guard reporting satisfactory results from these operations. The First Port Department of Piraeus Central Port Authority, which is conducting the preliminary investigation, arrested the tanker truck driver and the ship's chief engineer.