An oil leak has been reported on Monday at Lithuania's Butinge Terminal owned by Polish-capital oil import and processing company Orlen Lietuva (Orlen Lithuania), APA reports citing BNS.
The fact has been confirmed to BNS by the commander of Lithuania's Maritime Rescue Coordination Center.
A representative of the Environmental Protection Department says the stain is moving into the open sea towards Latvia. "A small amount of oil leaked. This is what we were told by an on-call person of Butinge Terminal. (…) At the moment, the Maritime Rescue Coordination Center is coordinating the provision of assistance," Eugenijus Valikovas, the center's commander, told BNS.
Arunas Malinovskis, head of the Communication Division at the Environmental Protection Department, says the leaked oil now covers an approximate area of 1 square kilometer, adding that due to currents and winds it is moving into the open sea towards Latvia.
"Environmental protection inspectors have launched an investigation and are calculating environmental damage," he added. Valikovas says the Lithuanian Navy's search and rescue vessel Sakiai has been sent to collect the oil. Moreover, a helicopter of the Lithuanian Air Force has also been sent to the incident area to specify the size of the stain.
Environment Minister Simonas Gentvilas posted on Facebook that a hose disconnected at Butinge Terminal and oil products leaked but he could not say the amount.
Orlen Lietuva has been importing oil via Butinge since 2006.
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