KARACHI, Oct 6: A barge belonging to a private company, carrying oil from Port Qasim to Karachi Port Trust, sank in the open sea, off 3.1 nautical miles from the city’s port, on Friday.

The barge, Orient One, was returning to the Karachi Port from Port Qasim, carrying 70 tons of furnace oil. As it reached 3.1 nautical miles from Karachi Port, it gave a SOS call to the operation room, KPT spokesman Shafiq Faridi told Dawn.

He said that an emergency squad rushed to the spot and rescued the three crew members of the barge. However, the barge sank. A pollution control team of the KPT reached the area and started work to contain oil spill.

Mr Faridi said that the channel for ships was safe and there was no threat to the beaches due to the oil spill.

On July 27, 2003, a Greece-flagged ship Tasman Spirit, carrying 67,000 tons crude oil, ran aground while piloting to the Karachi Port due to inclement weather.

The 14-kilometre-long Clifton beach was closed for people for many days after the leakage of crude oil into the sea that also badly affected the marine life.