Oil Spills In the Baltic Sea Near Lithuania, Latvia

Vilnius, Lithuania (AHN) - Lithuania's Environmental Protection Inspectorate announced Thursday that an estimated 200 to 400 kilograms of oil spilled into the Baltic Sea from the Butinge Terminal in Mazeikiu Nafta.

The spill occurred at 2:00 a.m. local time on during oil unloading operations at the terminal. According to local news reports the terminal has been plagued by oil spills since it opened nine years ago.

Lithuanian authorities are determining the spill's damage to the environment and have immediately launched a clean-up. The spill covered a 50 square meter area, and is moving towards Latvia.

Located on the Lithuanian-Latvian border, Butinge is the only transit point for oil after Russia decommissioned the Druzhba pipeline in 2006. The terminal has a floating buoy with a capacity of 160,000 barrels per day.

In November 2001, more than 59 tons of crude leaked into the sea, making it the largest spill since Butinge started operations in 1999. Prior to the latest spill, an oil spill occurred in January 2005 due to a damaged buoy hose.