An emergency clean-up operation was launched in Hamilton Harbour following an oil spill on Tuesday night.

According to Marine and Ports officials, the spill reportedly occurred while ferries were being refuelled at headquarters on Front Street near the junction with Spurling Hill due to a failure in the fuelling line.

A spokesman said the line “was thought to have been leaking for about 20 minutes during fuelling”.

On Tuesday night twelve personnel were dispatched to the area, where they deployed an absorbent boom around the ferry dock area in order to contain the spill.

“As of 9am [Wednesday] morning, the old absorbent pads from last night had been removed and replaced with new ones,” the spokesman added.

“More absorbent boom and pads were brought up from Pennos Wharf to deploy near the Blue Waters Anglers Club and other areas. The new pads and boom were used to address areas of sheen that are visible in the vicinity.”

Yesterday afternoon, the oil slick within the boomed area of the ferry dock was only noticeable hard up against the eastern edge of the concrete dock that juts out into the harbour.

The spokesman added: “It was decided that there is not sufficient quantity to make any retrieval of diesel via a skimmer worthwhile.

“The precise volume of diesel that was released into the harbour will be known at a later date when the Department of Environmental Protection has simulated the fault that occurred.”

The Department of Environmental Health and Occupational Health will conduct a full review of the incident.