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Irish Sea oil leak expected to wash up on Formby, Ainsdale and Southport beaches

A pipeline off the coast of North Wales has leaked around 500 barrels of oil into the Irish Sea.

Dominic Raynor
By Dominic Raynor
Published 15th Feb 2022, 18:02 BST
Updated 15th Feb 2022, 18:42 BST

An oil pipeline leak off the coast of North Wales is expected to wash up on Southport, Ainsdale and Formby beaches.

Sefton Council have issued a warning to the public to expected ‘tar balls’ to appear along the coast line after around 500 barrels of oil seeped into the Irish Sea on Monday.

The leakage came from a pipeline controlled by Eni UK Ltd, who also own the Lennox platform that can be seen in Liverpool Bay from the Merseyside coast.

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A Sefton Council spokesperson said: “Owing to currents and weather forecasts in the next 24 hours, we expect to see deposits, in the form of ‘tar balls’ washing up on our coastline as a result of this incident.”

The leak came from an pipeline that runs between Eni UK Ltd’s Conwy and Douglas Installations in the Irish Sea, 20 miles off the North Wales coast.

Formby Beach is ideal for families, with a large car park, picnic areas and waymarked paths to the beach, dunes and woods. The high dunes afford excellent views across the Irish Sea and on clear days after rain, even the mountains of Cumbria can be seen.
Formby Beach is ideal for families, with a large car park, picnic areas and waymarked paths to the beach, dunes and woods. The high dunes afford excellent views across the Irish Sea and on clear days after rain, even the mountains of Cumbria can be seen.
Formby Beach is ideal for families, with a large car park, picnic areas and waymarked paths to the beach, dunes and woods. The high dunes afford excellent views across the Irish Sea and on clear days after rain, even the mountains of Cumbria can be seen.

Clean-up operation

A Sefton Council spokesperson said: “While this type of incident is rare, Sefton Council and its partner agencies have robust plans in place to ensure any contamination or disruption to our coastline is minimal.

“We will be supporting Eni UK Limited’s clean up teams in the coming weeks to remove any potential contamination.

“Posters have been erected along our coastline to inform visitors to our beach of this issue and we would ask that dogs are kept supervised at all times.

“We would also stress that removal of this waste should only be carried out by professionals, and we ask that members of the public do not attempt to remove any ‘tar ball’ deposits.”

If you come across any ‘tar ball’ deposits call  0151 934 2961 to report it to the Rangers at Green Sefton. For more information visit www.Sefton.gov.uk/oilspill

Lennox platform in Liverpool Bay. Image: Callum - stock.adobe.com
Lennox platform in Liverpool Bay. Image: Callum - stock.adobe.com
Lennox platform in Liverpool Bay. Image: Callum - stock.adobe.com

What Eni UK Ltd said

Eni UK Ltd said that the incident did not injure any personnel on their installations and the affected pipeline remains shut off.

A statement added: “Details of the incident are still being confirmed.

“All the relevant authorities have been promptly informed and we are working in full collaboration with them.

“An incident management team has been mobilised and is working closely with the relevant authorities and response contractors to understand the situation and minimise any effect to the environment.”

Irish SeaNorth Wales