Based on drift forecasts, the oil spill from the sunken con/ro Grande America may eventually make it to the shore on France’s Bay of Biscay coastline. What is more, the spill could also reach as near as of La Rochelle on March 18.
con/ro Grande America caught fire on March 10. The fire incident resulted to the vessel sinking two days after, on March 12.
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In the meantime, French authorities informed that the vessel’s sinking caused oil traces, with the Maritime Prefecture of Atlantic informing that the oil slick was approximately 10 km long and 1 km wide.
After the incident, the French authorities deployed the offshore supply ship Argonaute from Brest, and reportedly three additional vessels, to help with the oil cleanup operations.
In the meantime, EMSA published a statement informing that it has been providing emergency assistance at the request of the French authorities.
In addition, according to Vigipol, a French environmental organization, warned that the hull of the ship could still be releasing fuel over time, and be a constant source of pollution if the situations is left unaddressed.
At the time of the accident, the vessel was loaded with 365 containers, 45 of which were listed as containing hazardous materials, local media cited the Maritime Prefecture of Atlantic. The ship also had 2,200 tons of fuel in its bunkers.
In a recent, similar incident, after the collision of the ferry ‘Ulysse’ with the container ship ‘CSL Virginia’ oil had spilled along the Corsica, in France’s Riviera. Namely, thick oil was washed up along the beaches, which volunteers trying to get rid of with shovels and sacks.
The clean-up operation took place on beaches in Saint-Tropez and Ramatuelle. This is not the first time that Riviera is hit, as in 2017 it faced forest fires, and now oil pollution, Roland Bruno, mayor of Ramatuelle, said.
According to Reuters, volunteers were cleaning the beaches from the oil, wearing white cotton overalls and rubber boosts, trying to clean the sand by putting as much oil as they can into orange sacks.
