According to the prefecture of Gironde, the latest estimates indicate that the oil spill from from the sinking of ‘Grande America’ will not reach the coast during this week. However, it warned that debris and containers could arrive in the coastline quicker.
Since the sinking of the Grande America ship, in the Bay of Biscay on March 12, several oil spills were noticed a day later, on March 13. For this reason, on March 14, the prefects of Charente-Maritime, Gironde and Landes placed the relevant services in the pre-alert phase of the POLMAR-Earth plan, because of the initial estimates of drift, indicating an approach of pollutants within 3 to 4 days.
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The deployment of the established protocol made it possible to quickly analyze the origin of pollutants in the Gironde, by mobilizing the Center for Documentation and Experimentation on Accidental Water Pollution (CEDRE), which concluded that they did not correspond to hydrocarbons from Grande America.
Now, the latest estimates of the drift committee placed with the Prefect Maritime, indicate that pollution would not affect the coastline during this week. However, it warned about the risk of debris and containers, which could arrive on the coasts earlier.
Due to the many hazards and weather developments, the estimate of potentially affected coast points is the subject of daily assessments by the committee of drift placed with the Prefect Maritime
the prefecture of Gironde stated.
The pre-alert posture of the services regarding the POLMAR-Terre plan will be adjusted according to the data provided by the Maritime Prefect, the level of anticipated pollution, and the need to deploy resources beyond the municipal or departmental capacities. In addition, all state services should remain vigilant and anticipate possible changes in the situation.
