Grounded Rig Leaking Oil off Scotland

Youtube The recently grounded oil rig Transocean Winner on the west side of the Isle of Lewis near Carloway is leaking oil as two of its fuel tanks appear to have been breached, a initial damage assessment inspections revealed. A damage assessment team from Smit Salvage and the owner of the rig Transocean said that it is unclear at this time how much oil from those tanks has been released to the environment. The rig remains in the original position and was reported to be carrying 280 metric tonnes of diesel oil on board in total split between a number of separate tanks. Due to severe weather conditions at the site, the team was not able to continue the assessment, the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency said. Additional salvors and technical experts from Transocean and also equipment continues to arrive to the incident area to support the operation. A temporary exclusion zone of 300 metres to keep boats away remains in force, the agency added. The tug Union Bear remains in the vicinity along with the ETV Herakles to support the operation. The 1983-built Transocean Winner ran into trouble on Sunday night, which was being towed by tug Alp Forward, when it encountered severe weather west of the Isle of Lewis, Scotland. At the time of the incident there were no personnel on board the rig.