After the collision of the ferry ‘Ulysse’ with the container ship ‘CSL Virginia’ oil had spilled along the Corsica, in France’s Riviera. Now, reports mention that thick oil has been washed up along the beaches, which volunteers try to get rid of with shovels and sacks.
The clean-up operation is occurring on beaches in Saint-Tropez and Ramatuelle. This is not the first time that Riviera is hit, as last year it faced forest fires, and now oil pollution, Roland Bruno, mayor of Ramatuelle, said.
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According to Reuters, volunteers are currently cleaning the beaches from the oil. Wearing white cotton overalls and rubber boosts, they are trying to clean the sand by putting as much oil as they can into orange sacks.
This operation comes only after 10 days since France’s new environment minister, Francois de Rugy, informed that the spill had been contained, and that it would not put the Riviera coastline at risk.
The container ship ‘CSL Virginia’ collided with the ferry ‘Ulysse’ near Corsica on Sunday, October 7. Both ships sustained damages, while no injuries were reported.
After the collision, the container ship’s hull was ruptured. As a result, a bunker spill of around 4 kilometres has been reported off Corsica. In order to control the pollution, a number of ships have been deployed, while Italy and Monaco also assisted in the clean up operation.
The ferry was released from the container ship, on October 11. This came after the first attempt to separate the ships, which was unsuccessful. The ferry ‘Ulysse’ has now left the Corsica and headed to Tunisia.
