Pakistani oil barge sinks near Karachi port

Karachi, Oct 7: An oil barge owned by a private Pakistani firm sank near the country's main port in Karachi, a port official today said, and some of the oil on board had begun to leak into the sea.

The 25-metre Orion-1 was carrying 65 tonnes of fuel oil and sank about 3 kilometres southwest of the port.

''However, traffic was not affected by the incident, which occurred yesterday evening,'' said Rashid Yahya Usmani, a senior official at the Karachi Port Trust.

He said measures had been taken to prevent oil from leaking from the barge, although some had already seeped into the water.

''The bulk of the 65 tonnes of oil is still contained in the tanks and we are trying to empty them before any major spill happens,'' Usmani said.

A Greek oil tanker Tasman Spirit, carrying 67,500 tonnes of crude oil, ran aground in 2003 after splitting in two outside the channel leading to the port of Karachi, causing the worst spill in Pakistan's history.

It lost 28,500 tonnes of crude.

The spill blackened several kilometres of beaches, damaged marine life and mangrove forests and caused health problem for people living nearby.

REUTERS