Major oil spill in Baltic Sea after ferry runs aground near Swedish coast

A ferry that ran aground off south-eastern Sweden has started to leak oil again into the Baltic Sea and suffered “extensive damage”. 

As reported by AP, the Marco Polo, operated by TT-Line of Germany, was running between two Swedish ports, Trelleborg and Karlshamn, when it touched ground, sustained damage and started leaking on October 22.

It continued under its own power and was able to continue its journey, only to run aground after another 5 kilometers.

The 75 people on board, both passengers and crew, were quickly evacuated.

The accident released a slick of fuel which eventually reached the shores near Solvesborg, some 110 kilometres (68 miles) north-east of Malmo, Sweden’s third-largest city.

Initially, the plan was to pump out the remaining oil from the ferry but that plan qas quickly dismissed when the ferry slipped off the ground on October 29 because of severe weather, the Swedish coast guard and the TT-Line company said.

The vessel drifted further out, got stuck for a third time and leaked more oil.

Swedish authorities said the extent of the new oil leak could not yet be assessed but announced, that that it would likely take days before a salvage operation could begin.

According to the Swedish coastguards, about 25,000 liters of oil and oil spillage had been recovered during the week. The authorities fear that it could take up to a year to fully clean up the spill.

Two crew members of the ferry have been fined for "recklessness in maritime traffic" by Sweden.