By DPA
Vilnius (Lithuania) : An estimated 200 to 400 kg of oil spilled into the Baltic Sea at Butinge oil terminal, plagued by spills since it was opened nine years ago, local media reported Thursday.
The environmental protection inspectors were estimating the scale of the spill and its damage to environment, head of Accident Prevention and Management Division of State Environmental Protection Inspectorate, Gediminas Markauskas said in a statement.
The spill occurred at 2 a.m. (0000 GMT) Thursday during unloading, Baltic News Service (BNS) said.
Causes of the accident are yet unknown. Lithuanian authorities have launched a clean up operation.
Located near the Lithuanian-Latvian border, the terminal became the only way to supply Mazeiku Nafta, which operates a system of crude oil pipelines, with oil after Russia turned off Druzhba pipeline in 2006. Butinge is an offshore terminal with a floating buoy with a capacity of 160,000 barrels per day.
In November 2001, more than 59 tonnes of crude spilled into the sea, making it the largest spill since the terminal was opened in 1999.
The previous oil spill took place in January 2005 due to a fault of buoy hose.