It has been confirmed that a Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) leak occurred onboard a vessel docked at the South Hook terminal in Milford Haven.

A South Hook spokesman said: “South Hook is aware that the LNG vessel Excelerate experienced a minor release of cargo onto the vessel’s deck during her recent discharge at the terminal.

“The ship’s operator quickly identified and isolated the cause, assessing the release as being minimal. The planned discharge was carefully monitored and completed, before the vessel sailed and the appropriate local authorities were informed at the time.”

Maritime and Coastguard Agency press officer Fred Caygill said the leak of liquid cargo at-160degrees on March 1, caused cracks and damage to the deck.

“There is a responsibility of the master to inform the port authority-on this occasion it did not happen and we only became aware of this event after.

“They did contact their classification society which issued them a certificate.

“Once we became aware of the situation we flagged it up on our system and requested an inspection.”

The vessel underwent repairs at Cadiz in Spain.

Mr Caygill added: “We are conducting enquiries into what happened and the procedures in place.”

A Milford Haven Port Authority spokesman said: “The incident was acted upon immediately and no-one was hurt.

“An investigation is underway and we are now awaiting some technical reports to complete it.

“The cargo was discharged safely and the ship sailed on March 3 as normal.”