VTTI Suspends Ops at Malaysian Terminal due to Oil Spill

VTTI Energy storage company VTTI, owned by energy trader Vitol, has suspended operations at its terminal in Malaysia due to an oil spill upon receipt of a Notice of Suspension by the Johor Port Authority, according to the company. The oil spill occurred on August 24 while the tanker MT Trident Star was loading bunker fuel at berth 5 of ATT Tanjung Bin Terminal (ATB). The investigation into the facts that led to the oil spill incident has concluded that oil was being loaded into a non-nominated tank on board of the MT Trident Star and the vessel’s crew failed to timely respond to the activation of the vessel’s high level alarm, according to VTTI. ATB has send a request to the authorities to re-consider the decision to suspend ATB’s operations and to uplift the suspension immediately, VTTI said. Located in Johor, Malaysia, ATB has a storage capacity of over one million cubic metres. The terminal handles over 100 vessels per month . World Maritime News Staff