Rotterdam oil spill nearly cleaned up

Of the more than 200 tons of oil that leaked in the port of Rotterdam on Saturday, more than 150 tons have been cleaned up. The rest of the cleanup will take a few more days, RTL Nieuws reports.

The oil leaked after a tanker hit a jetty in the Derde Petroleum port on Saturday. A part of this port has now been released, though the rest is still closed down with an oil resistant screen to prevent the oil from spreading. The Geul port is also blocked.

Special car washes have been set up to clean the approximately 50 barges and 15 seagoing vessels in the harbor. So far eight barges and one seagoing ship have been through the cleaning.

Public works department Rijkswaterstaat is working on constructing an emergency shelter for over 500 oil-covered birds. The tent camp is as good as set up, and the bird washing station is currently under construction. It is expected that the first birds will be washed by the end of Tuesday.