Cargo Ship Leaks Oil After Running Aground in Sweden

A 90-meter cargo ship was taking on water and leaking oil after running aground this morning in the Baltic Sea off Stockholm.

The Swedish Coast Guard reports that the MV Kurtu was holed after running aground at approximately 5 a.m. Wednesday morning in the Stockholm archipelago.

The vessel was reported to be leaking oil and photos show the Kurtu with a noticeable list to starboard.

Seven crew have been evacuated from the vessel without injury. The Captain and engineer remain onboard the ship along with some Coast Guard and salvage personnel.

Following the grounding, crews rushed to transfer oil from the damaged tank to an undamaged one. Efforts are now concentrated on pumping water from the ship. At one point a damaged hold was filled with as much as 4 meters of water, but pumping has reduced the water to around 1.5 meters, the Coast Guard said.

The Coast Guard reports that the Kurtu is now stable and the ship will be towed to Oxelösund, Sweden.

Work was expected to continue throughout the night with the Coast Guard’s two multipurpose vessel KBV 002 and 031, as well as a salvage ship.

The Coast Guard did not say exactly how much oil was leaked.



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