Fuel oil spills into Aegean Sea, Turkish pier sealed

İZMİR

Fuel oil leaking from a fuel tank in the Aegean province of İzmir spilled into the Aegean Sea late on Jan. 11, forcing a nearby pier to close for cleaning purposes, Doğan News Agency reported on Jan. 12.

The leak was caused by a glitch in the fuel tank’s valve, later flowing toward a pier in İzmir’s Urla district, the report said.

While the Environment and Urbanization Ministry has begun an investigation into the hazard, cleaning efforts are ongoing in the area.

Upon citizens’ calls for intervention, a private firm rushed to the scene to help clean the spill and stop the hazard from worsening.

The workers first cordoned off the pier’s entrance and used solvent bars to stop the spill from going further. They then threw plastic bottles into the sea so that they can suck the fuel oil.

All 80 boats moored in the pier were affected by the spill, and a university was reported to have contacted the boat owners to help with the cleaning.

Eymen Gök, a regional coordinator at the private cleaning firm, said he expects the leak to be cleaned as soon as possible from the Aegean Sea.

The fuel tank belonging to Ege University’s Water Products School was being used for warming purposes, the agency reported.