More than 2,000 tonnes of propulsion fuel could escape from the wreck of the “Grande America”, which lies 4,500 meters deep, 333 km west of La Rochelle.
The French coast could soon have to face a new oil spill. The “Grande America”, an Italian ship, sank with its cargo – including hazardous materials and vehicles – and its fuel. The State is mobilized and “doing everything” to “reduce the impact” on the coasts of the oil pollution which threatens the Atlantic coast, assured Thursday the Minister of Ecological Transition and the Prime Minister. “There is a risk, so everything must be done to reduce it and reduce the impact of pollution on our coasts,” François de Rugy said on BFMTV. “Reconnaissance planes took off from Brittany to go and measure the extent of this slick and see if it continues to be fed by the tanks of the ship which sank and is currently 4500 meters deep”, added the Minister of Ecological transition, expected in Brest in the early afternoon.
An underwater robot could also be deployed to see if there are any cracks in the wreckage that could still leak fuel oil. The oil slick of “more than 10 kilometers” spotted at sea does not indeed correspond to the 2,200 tonnes of propulsion fuel that the ship contained, said François de Rugy. “We prefer to anticipate a risk of pollution and deploy resources,” he added, stressing that this pollution had “nothing to do” with that caused by the oil tanker Erika in 1999.
The oil slick filmed by the French Navy
[#GrandeAmerica] Images of the oil slick from the maritime patrol aircraft @MarineNationale : it extends over 10 km long and 1 km wide. @SGMer@MarineNationale@EMSA_LISBON@FdeRugy@douane_france@CedreBrest@SecCivileFrance@MarinesPompiers@Min_Ecologiepic.twitter.com/bIcLFL6liv
— Premar Atlantique (@premaratlant) 14 mars 2019
Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, traveling Thursday to Mont-Saint-Michel (Manche), also assured that the government was following “obviously with a lot, a lot, a lot of attention” the consequences of the sinking to “limit the risk as much as possible” pollution.
“I do not believe that we are, at this stage, in a position to indicate all the elements on the risks, but I know that the Minister of Transport, the Minister of Ecological Transition and all the public actors on this file is perfectly mobilized ”for this purpose, added the head of government.
An anti-pollution vessel is already in the area
An anti-pollution vessel is already in the area and others should be deployed. If the weather conditions allow it, with very rough seas, the authorities will try to pump the slick at sea and install floating booms.
As a last resort, “you have to prepare on land, it is the stake for the State, the local communities, therefore the prefects of departments are mobilized to prepare means on land”, underlined François de Rugy, indicating that ‘it was not possible at this stage to say when or where the oil might hit the coast. However, he mentioned the Charente-Maritime and the Gironde, and even the Spanish coasts.
The ministry told AFP that François de Rugy would go to Brest in the afternoon to the crisis management center and on an anti-pollution ship which will be in the area on Friday. The Grande America, a hybrid ship between a ro-ro and a container ship, sank 333 km west of La Rochelle on Tuesday with hazardous materials and 2,200 tonnes of heavy fuel oil in its holds, after a fire on board. On the photos distributed by the French Navy and that we publish here, we see the ship in flames with a large list.
The investigation opened by the prosecution will make it possible to “trace the history” of the ship and to see “if there is a responsibility of the owner or even of the crew,” said François de Rugy. The “Great America” had undergone checks “in Great Britain a few years ago which had given rise to an upgrade by the shipowner”, he added.
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