Mediterranean Shipping Company, MSC, is for the time being omitting calls at Sines Container Terminal in Portugal due to an oil spill caused by a Panama-flagged vessel. The company is looking for alternatives in order not to harm the terminal’s operations.
Specifically, the Panama-flagged container ship, MSC Sandra, called at Sines on April 4 and it still docked there, after a spill of fuel oil during bunkering operations.
MSC informed its customers that decisions were made concerning specific vessels to omit calls:
- MSC LUCIANA, voyage IS911R, Himalaya Express service;
- MSC CANDICE, voyage NZ912A, NWC to South Africa service;
- MAJESTIC MAERSK, voyage 910W, Silk service;
- MSC RITA, voyage ME912W, MEDUSEC service;
- MSC SAO PAULO, voyage NC913R, Aegean service;
- MSC VITTORIA, voyage MF911E, MEDGULF service;
- MSC ELA, voyage CK914R, Turkey-Canada service.
Moreover, contingency arrangements have been placed to make sure that cargo of the above vessels reaches its destination as soon as possible. These arrangements include alternative port calls and alternative loading and discharge operations.
In the meantime, the company announced that additional vessels might also have to omit the Sines call in the next few days, and MSC will inform accordingly.
MSC expects to resume normal service calling at Sines again in the following days.
