A TEAM of 21 salvage workers was evacuated from the oil tanker Sea Empress last night as it grounded on rocks in rough weather.
The team had been trying to stabilise the Liberian registered vessel, which ran aground on Thursday off the south Wales coast, when a strong tide overcame the pull of the four tugs holding it in place. Up to a tenth of the light crude oil carried by the tanker may now have spilled into the sea in an area reputed for its wildlife.
Mr David Gainfort of the auxiliary Coastguard said the team had been taken by tug back to shore. "The tanker is on the reef at the moment. She's sitting low," he said. "There is no danger of her breaking up at the moment ... The team has been evacuated because of the bad weather."
The Coastguard said the tanker appeared to have sustained some damage and more oil could be released but they were hoping it would be towed into deep water at high tide this morning.
Several tugs were standing by the crippled tanker ready to assist and a Marine Pollution Control Unit planned to carry out aerial surveillance to assess any further leakage.
The specialists were put aboard the vessel early yesterday as pumps and other equipment were airlifted out to them. They had planned to stay on the tanker overnight to get it ready for the removal of oil and water from the hull to lighten its load before off loading the cargo of 130,000 tonnes of oil.
Initially, improving weather conditions were expected to allow them to stay on board the ship for the first time since weekend gales threatened an ecological disaster.
But as they worked, an oil slick continued to spread across the two mile wide Milford Haven estuary in Pembrokeshire, Wales and the weather worsened. Three DC3 Dakota aircraft made continuous sorties and sprayed the slick with dispersant chemicals.
More than 60 tonnes of heavy salvage equipment arrived on four trucks at Milford Haven yesterday and four tugs held the 275 feet vessel in place. Worried conservationists said hundreds of thousands of sea birds would remain at risk until the oil was safely removed. Pollution from the tanker yesterday claimed 3,000 rare rock pool starfish, an entire population, close to the stranded tanker.
Dr Robin Crump of the Dyfed Wildlife Trust said the starfish were found at only seven sites in British waters.
"Prior to the oil spill, this bay was one of the finest wildlife beaches in the UK," he said.