Liverpool Coastguard are
currently coordinating the recovery of a ship damaged following a collision
with a wind turbine pile at Walney Wind Farm, off Barrow-in-Furness.

The Liverpool Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) received a
call at 9:05 this morning reporting that the standby safety vessel, OMS Pollux,
had collided with a pile supporting a turbine. 

The vessel has since been leaking marine gas oil (diesel).

The Danish-registered vessel, with a crew of around 18 on
board, remains afloat and there are no reported injuries.

OMS Pollux has moved under its own power to
its current location north of the Port of Liverpool limits, and away from
environmentally sensitive areas.  The
Barrow lifeboat attended the incident and the ship was escorted in relay by the
Barrow, Lytham and Hoylake lifeboats.

The fixed-wing aircraft from Maritime and Coastguard
Agency’s counter pollution team has made a flypast and reports that a surface
sheen, 5-10 metres wide and around 0.7 nautical miles in length is trailing the
vessel.

Unlike heavier forms of fuel,
marine gas oil should evaporate or disperse naturally.

The OMS Pollux will remain offshore outside the Liverpool
Port Authority limits until the leak has been stopped.

The multi-agency Environment Group set up to
respond to this type of incident – and comprising local authorities, emergency
services, government agencies and other stakeholders – is meeting this
afternoon to assess the local situation.

The Liverpool MRCC is in constant contact with the vessel and is also monitoring the
situation.

The Marine Accident Investigation Branch has been informed.