A major oil spill forced the closure of the Albert Canal near Olen, in Antwerp province, after a barge leaked around 10,000 liters of fuel oil while passing through the Olen lock complex.

The spill, which began on Tuesday evening, created a slick that spread across the entire width of the canal for several kilometers and disrupted both shipping and nearby industrial operations.

The vessel involved has been identified as River Drone 4, a 3,800-tonne inland barge with semi-autonomous navigation technology operated by Naval Inland Navigation.

Per initial reports, the leak started shortly after the barge crossed the Olen locks, and the spill stopped later that night. The barge sustained a puncture in a fuel tank located above the waterline. Local authorities said the damage appeared to be repairable.

The fuel slick was described as “quite a lot of pollution” by marine services officials working on the cleanup. Emergency crews and a specialised company were brought in immediately. They deployed sorbent booms, absorption materials, vacuum systems, and filtration machines to contain and extract the oil.

Overnight, one of the three locks was cleared of oil residues, while the other two remained closed for cleaning. Officials said five key contaminated areas were identified and treated, and large amounts of sludge were removed from the water.

By Wednesday at 2 p.m., the cleanup had progressed enough to allow shipping traffic to resume. However, authorities have not provided an estimate of when the full cleanup would be completed.

Olen Mayor Kris Gebruers confirmed that the oil slick stretched from the Olen lock to the Olen-Hoogbuul bridge, a distance of two to three kilometers, and covered the full width of the canal. Regional emergency coordinator Sten Van Bruggen said significant progress was made in cleaning up the oil upstream, and the remaining sludge was collected for disposal.

The Flemish Waterways Agency said the lock system at Olen prevented the contamination from moving further downstream, reducing the risk to Antwerp’s water supply. The city’s mayor told Belgian broadcaster VRT that if the fuel had entered the drinking water system, the damage would have been “incalculable.”

The Mars Food factory in Olen, which produces pre-packaged rice for the Ben’s Original brand, temporarily shut down operations because of the strong odor from the spill.

A company spokesperson explained that production was halted preemptively to protect employees and products. The Olen facility primarily processes rice imported from Spain and Italy, which arrives by barge.

In December last year, sister ship River Drone 5 collided with another inland vessel near Rotterdam. At that time, the vessel was under the control of its onboard crew, not the remote navigation system.

Reference: brusselstimes

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