Diesel Fuel Leaking From Grounded Oil Rig in U.K.

An unknown amount of diesel fuel has leaked from a Transocean Ltd. drilling rig that ran aground in Scotland, authorities in the U.K. said Wednesday.

The U.K. Maritime and Coastguard Agency said two fuel tanks were cracked on the rig, which was carrying about 280 metric tons, or about 300 tons, of diesel. The agency said it couldn't determine how much fuel had been released into the waters off the Western Isles, where the rig ran aground on Monday.

British authorities said their investigation had been hampered by poor weather conditions, preventing teams from inspecting the rig on Wednesday after spending more than three hours aboard it on Tuesday.

The 17,000-metric-ton rig, known as the Transocean Winner, was being towed to Malta from Norway on Monday when rough weather caused it to come disconnected from a tugboat. It ran aground near the town of Carloway on the western side of the Isle of Lewis in northwestern Scotland, authorities said. No one was injured.

Any leakage would likely be relatively small, but the area is environmentally sensitive. Known as alternatively as the Western Isles or the Outer Hebrides, the string of islands is known for its rugged landscapes and wildlife.

The Western Isles Emergency Planning Coordinating Group said it could take some time to move the rig because it got stuck onshore at high tide during a storm.

The area is facing a spell of bad weather in the next few days, which may also delay the effort to salvage the rig, the group said.

Transocean, a Switzerland-based company that provides offshore drilling services, didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday. The company said Tuesday that it was working with authorities to remove the rig and find out what happened.

Transocean was the owner of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig that exploded in April 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico, killing 11 workers and triggering the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history.

A spokesman for ALP Maritime Services, the Dutch towing company responsible for moving the rig, said it has policies in place requiring its crew to analyze real-time weather information and that a review of the incident was under way.

Write to Neanda Salvaterra at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 10, 2016 14:05 ET (18:05 GMT)

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