There is concern among harbour-users in Penzance – including swimmers – after a fishing boat sank releasing oil, which residents say has left a film on the surface of the water within the harbour, writes Local Democracy Reporter Lee Trewhela.

The former MFV (motor fishing vessel) Karina Olsen, most recently used as a live-aboard boat in Penzance harbour, sank at its mooring at the beginning October, falling inwards to the wall where moored.

It was reported in January that Cornwall Council was seeking to get rid of the 17-metre former fishing boat which has been docked in Penzance harbour for over 20 years and left to rot.

Andrew Penney, a member of Mounts Bay Marine Group (MBMG) and a swimmer, told us: “I regularly swim in Penzance harbour when conditions in the open sea are not suitable. Recently a boat in poor condition has been moored against the quay. It has since sunk – at high tide it is largely submerged.

“I understand that the boat had a quantity of fuel on board. I believe that some fuel has been pumped off but there is still a thin film of oil on the surface of the harbour at high tide. This has made it impossible to swim. I do not know what impact the oil would have on the environment and sea life.”

He added: “A lightweight boom has been placed around the boat, however at low tide it doesn’t look effective, with it lying flat on the surface and gaps at the edge. I am concerned that the boat has been left to deteriorate and leak fuel for weeks. There has been very little activity to remove the boat.

“I am concerned about the impact to the environment and Harbour users if the boat is not made safe as soon as possible.”

A Penzance resident also contacted us, saying: “It has been leaking since it was put there and the boom isn’t containing either. It’s coming over the top and out of the sides … it stinks. Looking at it at low tide, the boom is useless because it doesn’t form a seal at the bottom, there were large gaps where any oil would escape. There’s a film of oil over the whole harbour.”

We contacted Cornwall Council about the incident. A representative of the local authority said that when the Karina Olsen sank it “was surrounded by an oil boom and absorbent equipment used to recover a minor spillage at that time. The Harbour Authority were later able to recover large quantity of diesel from the vessel but due to the deteriorating condition of the vessel it has not been safe to recover any more.

“The high spring tide has washed through the vessel and some oil has escaped from the boom. Additional absorbents have been placed around the vessel. We continue to monitor the situation and encourage the vessels owner to take appropriate action to remove the vessel.”

It is believed that around 3,500 litres of diesel was recovered from the privately-owned boat and the Harbour Authority is in talks with the owner regarding the vessel’s disposal.

A meeting of Cornwall Harbours Board heard on January 11 that the Karina Olsen was sold by its original owner with a condition that it was removed from the harbour within three months as it was taking up valuable berth space.

However, the boat was resold without agreement with the Penzance harbourmaster and the new owner was not communicating with the authorities at the time of that meeting.

The harbours board heard then that the Karina Olsen was in a deteriorating condition with no sign of maintenance and posed an increased risk to safety at the harbour.