The Captain of the Port of Funchal, in coordination with APRAM – Port Administration of the Autonomous Region of Madeira, SA, and the municipality of Machico, coordinated, this Friday (April 30), a containment and cleaning operation for a pollutant found in the Recreational Port of Machico.
“The alert was received by the Funchal Maritime Police, at about zero hours, through the entities responsible for the Recreational Port, and the Maritime Department’s Pollution Fighting Brigade was immediately activated for the site”, reveals the Captaincy of Funchal Port in a press release.
“The accidental discharge of the pollutant, originated from a cleaning action on the Marina ramp, having inadvertently used a product that was not suitable for the task”, he adds, specifying that the pollutant in question was powdered calcium stearate.
The substance “is not toxic to the marine environment and does not represent a health hazard, despite the fact that it can cause eye irritation and the pollutant stain has a very significant visual impact”, highlights the maritime authority.
The cleaning operations took place until 4 pm, and containment barriers remained in place to contain the remaining pollutant.
The Local Command of the Maritime Police of Funchal took care of the occurrence.
