New Flame shape of disasters to come in the overcrowded straits.

To date 217 tonnes of oil and other waste said to be from the New Flame has been washed up on beaches in Algeciras. The on-going work to clear up this residue from the wreck has now been hampered by the bad weather conditions. The latest arrival on the shoreline has been a large amount of ash. The Gibraltar Government has doubted whether this debris is from the semi-submerged vessel but says that if scientific tests prove that it is then it will pay for the clean-up operation.
The Gibraltar Government has stated that from the middle of this month a new salvage operation will be undertaken on the cargo vessel New Flame. This will be carried out by one of the leaders in the field, Titan Maritime, after previous efforts by a Greek salvage company were abandoned due to cost and technical problems.
The Panamanian cargo Vessel NEW FLAME, carrying a cargo of scrap metal and the Danish Product Tanker TORM GERTRUDE collided in Gibraltar waters, 1 kilometre south of Europa Point, Gibraltar at 05.55 hrs , Sunday 12th August 2007.
The NEW FLAME had just left Gibraltar bound for Turkey. The TORM GERTRUDE was heading inbound for the Port of Algeciras in Spain from the Eastern Mediterranean.
As a result of the collision both vessels were damaged. The TORM GERTRUDE proceeded to the Port of Algeciras in Spain. The vessel is currently in a safe condition.
The damage sustained by the NEW FLAME resulted in her taking in water with Nos. 1 and 2 holds being completely flooded. This caused the vessel to start sinking by the bow, at which point the crew of 23 abandoned ship safely.
The vessel then drifted to a nearby reef, where it came to rest. The current situation is that the bow of the vessel is resting on the reef and the remainder of the vessel, from amidships to the stern, is above the surface of the water.

Moratinos has defended the Spanish government's record over the New Flame claiming it had taken the necessary steps to protect the environment and was taking a keen interest in the matter. The Ministry of the Environment is maintaining a surveillance operation in the bay and ten specially trained technicians are on stand-by to deal with any pollution threat.