A former fishing boat sank in Dundee Harbour on Tuesday, causing a diesel spill which leaked into the River Tay.
Residents and dog-walkers were alarmed when a small ”slick” appeared near the banks of the Tay near Marine Parade around lunchtime on Tuesday, sparking fears for marine life in the area.
SEPA officers were called out and initially it was thought the spillage might have been caused by a large ship which had left the harbour earlier in the day, or nearby factories.
However they were informed by the harbour manager that a privately-owned former fishing boat called Ocean Quest which had come into the harbour for repairs had sunk in Camperdown Dock due to the recent gale-force winds.
A SEPA spokeswoman said officers were investigating but it appeared that only around 40 litres of diesel had leaked into the harbour, with only a small amount getting into the river.
A Forth Ports spokesman said: ”In the rough weather and severe gales over the Christmas period, the redundant fishing boat Ocean Quest has unfortunately sunk within Camperdown Dock.
”As a result, a small amount of diesel fuel oil which was on board has escaped into the dock.”
Forth Ports implemented its spill response plan deploying oil-absorbent booms across the dock entrance and recovering as much fuel as possible.
The spokesman said: ”We expect any remaining oil to evaporate over the course of the next few days. The owner of the vessel has been informed and it will be recovered.”
Christopher Pryce, whose flat in Marine Parade Walk overlooks the quayside, feared seals and swans in the area would be at risk of contamination.
He took photographs of the fuel on his phone and his father James sent them to The Courier. However, he said the slick changed, becoming thicker and more like oil.
Christopher (22) said: ”It was actually my girlfriend Ashley who saw it first. She told me and I went to the window and had a look. It wasn’t that bad at first but gradually as the day went on it got worse.”
He added: ”I phoned my dad and he said to take photographs and send them to him and he contacted SEPA.
”I told them there was a big ship in earlier which had now left and also that there were oil rigs and factories at the harbour. Other dog-walkers have been looking at it and taking pictures too.”
Christopher said he was worried that the local sealife would be affected by the spill.
He said: ”The seals here would definitely be put off coming with that in the water they come up to the stairs at the side of the river and there are swans that come here as well.
”We’ve only been here just over a year and the seals have only recently been coming here, you see them at Riverside Drive but they’ve started visiting here near the stairs that go down to the river.”
SEPA spokeswoman Lee Cadigan said: ”We received a couple of calls from members of the public and were informed by the harbour manager that around 11.30am a former fishing boat had sunk in the port, causing diesel oil to leak.
”They managed to get the booms across the port to minimise the amount of diesel getting into the river. The port staff did everything they should have done but around 40 litres of diesel oil did escape from the boat.”
Ms Cadigan said a unit manager was out at the harbour investigating the leak and a report would be prepared.
She said: ”The small amount of fuel which leaked into the river is expected to dissipate naturally over the next couple of days.
”It’s too early to say whether any marine life has been affected by this but the Tay is quite a big river and hopefully it will not have caused any problems.”