Tanker overturns, spilling Oil near Mombasa port

Mombasa, Kenya: A tanker carrying 20,000 liters of fuel overturned at the Kenya Ports Authority in Mombasa and has fallen oil on a road, making it impossible.

Port workers troubled to stop the oil from flowing into the ocean. The tanker reportedly provoked a traffic jam while going up a steep by-pass, specifically constructed for loaded trucks. The driver is said to have applied emergence brakes and lost control, bend off the road and hitting barriers before overturning.

Captain Twalib, head of marine operations, said the emergency braking made the tanker, which was not full to capacity, to lose control.

“When you apply sudden brakes and the tank is not full, the liquid in the truck tends to make it unstable. This is what made the truck bend off the road,” he explained. The Acting Managing Director of Marine Operations Muthoni Gatheri said it was not immediately possible to ascertain the extent of loss occasioned by the accident.

She, however, revealed that three quarters of the fuel in the tank had fallen.  She said officials were doing everything possible to stop the oil from reaching the ocean. The road most important to the port was closed for the clean-up to take place, inconveniencing motorists who were forced to use the longer direction through Kibarani to enter the port.