A yacht yard responsible for an oil spill that affected large swathes of the sea at Marsamxett harbour last month will be forced to cover the costs of the clean-up operation, the transport ministry has said.

The spill led to an oil slick stretching from Manoel Island to Tigné, triggering a clean-up operation and investigation by Transport Malta.

A ministry spokesperson told Times of Malta the investigation had confirmed the spill had originated from the Manoel Island Yacht Yard, “where a 1,000-litre container filled with waste oils was damaged during handling”.

In addition to being fined, the yard will be responsible for clean-up costs, staff expenses and administrative charges totalling around €12,000, he said.

The spokesperson said the transport regulator would organise “consultations with port stakeholders to communicate lessons learned from this event”, adding it enforced “strict regulatory measures” to prevent such incidents.

The Manoel Island Yacht Yard was suspected to be the source of the spill after aerial footage of the incident showed oil appearing to seep from a part of the yacht yard filled with industrial equipment, rubble and numerous liquid containers.

But when Times of Malta attempted to reach the yacht yard at the time, reception staff said its management were “in a meeting” and unavailable to speak to the media.

The spill took around two days to clear up, according to authorities.