Italian Oil Refinery Fire Hampers Vessels' Operations

There has been extensive disruption reported after a fire broke out Friday afternoon (27 September) at Italy’s energy giant Eni and Kuwait Petroleum’s jointly owned Milazzo oil refinery, near the northeast coast of Sicily. 

The incident is thought to have been caused by flames that broke out on the roof of a 5,000 litre tank containing gasoline.

The port of Milazzo’s terminal shore tanks were affected by the incident and all berthing/unberthing operations remain suspended. 

No injuries have been reported and firefighters have managed to bring the fire under control. Black smoke can still however be seen, as the fire will not fully extinguish until the oil tank is empty.