A RECOVERY operation is underway at the Sound of Mull after a fish farm landing craft sunk and leaked fuel.
The vessel, named Julie Anne and operated by Scottish Sea Farms, sank on Thursday near Fiunary at the company's salmon farming site.
The Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) has been informed and are taking steps to limit the spread of oil.
Plans are now being put in place to recover the 15m (49ft) vessel, which sank off the Ardnamurchan coast, as oil booms have been deployed around the incident area.
Scottish Sea Farms confirmed it is working “on removing the fuel and re-floating the vessel”.
Specialist divers have reportedly assessed the site and have made daily visits to the site since the incident occurred last Thursday to clean up debris and seal any further releases of oil.
Gerry McCormick, head of health and safety at Scottish Sea Farms, said: “Our immediate priority, with the assistance of specialist divers and environmental services, has been to check for any potential fuel leaks, seal any areas found to be releasing small quantities of fuel, and re-check these multiple times daily. As an added precaution, we have also deployed oil booms around the incident area.
“Our collective focus now is on removing the fuel and re-floating the vessel – a first for Scottish Sea Farms in close to 25 years of farming – which we hope to have done within the week, after which we will carry out a full and thorough inspection.”
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) have also made three surveillance flights of the site and are continuing to monitor the area of the incident.
If the MCA approves a recovery plan, the remaining fuel from the boat will be extracted.
Sepa has confirmed it has received reports of a sunken vessel at the Scottish Sea Farms site near Fiunary on Thursday.
A spokesperson for Sepa said: “The operator placed booms in the water to contain any potential pollution and prevent dispersal, and divers have been monitoring the vessel to check for and plug leaks.
“While a small fuel leakage was initially observed, this has been contained and no further pollution has been recorded.”
It also confirmed that the operator would continue to apply mitigation measures before the vessel is recovered.
