TRIESTE – A report of a possible presence of hydrogen sulfide during a fuel transshipment operation at the Port of Koper was not confirmed by subsequent checks. Those involved were discharged the same day and there are no cases of intoxication.
Luka Koper (the company managing the port) explained that the episode was triggered by a report from an employee who noticed a suspicious smell while diesel and biodiesel gas samples were being taken from a rail tank wagon. The report was made inside a control room, during a direct sampling operation from a railcar.
When the port’s emergency services arrived, the area was immediately secured. Measurements were taken at several points of the terminal and on the wagons involved, with no hydrogen sulfide detected. Further checks, repeated the following day as well, confirmed the absence of harmful gases in the operational area.
Internal investigations are still ongoing, Luka Koper said in a note. Based on the elements available, the suspicious smell would have been perceived only on some wagons handled during the previous night. Diesel and biodiesel samples were sent to specialized laboratories for analysis, also because the presence of H₂S in this type of fuel is described as abnormal.
As for the people involved, Luka Koper confirms that seven individuals, including an employee and an external operator responsible for sampling, were transferred as a precaution to Izola Hospital, from which they were discharged the same day after medical checks. According to official information, no poisoning case occurred.
As a precaution, Luka Koper has strengthened controls over the entire liquid cargo transshipment process and has guaranteed full support to staff.
