An oil spill caused a major operation at the Büsum Port (Dithmarschen district) on Wednesday morning. At around 8 a.m., approximately 500 liters of marine diesel spilled into the harbor basin while refueling the passenger ship MS "Funny Girl", as reported by Jens Albrecht, spokesperson for the Büsum Fire Department. As a result of the incident, the lock was closed and the entire port was
shut down for ship traffic – the closure has since been lifted.
Initial media reports mentioned up to 3,800 liters of spilled diesel. However, according to the fire department, this figure is inaccurate. The actual amount is around 500 liters, Albrecht said.
"That's still quite a lot."
The fire department was immediately alerted and responded along with additional forces.
Major operation in the port
In
total, approximately 50 emergency personnel from the Büsum Fire Department, the State Agency for Coastal Protection (LKN), the Volunteer Fire Department Hennstedt, and the Technical Relief Organization (THW) were on site. According to the fire department, the work is expected to continue into the night.
To prevent the spread of the fuel, oil barriers were deployed around the affected ship. Additionally, special skimmers were used
to suction the diesel from the water surface. According to the operation management, a large part of the spilled fuel was thus contained.
Police investigate
According to the fire department, there is currently no conclusive assessment of the exact cause of the incident. It is still unclear whether the diesel spill was caused by a technical defect or human error. The police have launched an
