A barge loaded with nearly 270,000 gallons of light fuel oil sank Tuesday a mile off Spain’s southern coast, threatening more ecological damage even as workers continued to clean up a catastrophic oil spill in the north.
The Spabunker IV developed a leak in stormy weather in Algeciras Bay near Gibraltar, officials said. The body of the captain, Miguel Roig, was found hours later; two crew members were rescued.
Some of the 94,500 gallons of the barge’s own diesel fuel leaked as it sank but none of its cargo was detected in the water, according to the Spanish energy company CEPSA, which leased the vessel and owned the oil.
The barge, owned by the Spanish company Ciresa, was used to refuel other vessels. The single-hulled, 130-foot-long ship was built in Valencia, Spain, in 1991 and was last inspected Jan. 15.
