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. However, due to the many hazards and weather developments, the estimate of potentially affected coast points is the subject of daily assessments.
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.
After the initial confirmation of oil spill coming from Grande America’s sinking, French authorities have sighted another oil slick originating from the sunken RoRo in the Bay of Biscay. The French Navy and Spain’s maritime search and rescue agency revealed that there is a third oil spill in the area of the incident, covering an area of about 5 km2.
On 12th March, the NGO Fishermen and Friends of the Sea reported an oil spill at the Port of Port of Spain, in Trinidad. The NGO said that when it visited the area, there was a dense concentration of oil around the Port of Spain Harbour near to an industrial barge. Eye witness also reported that the oil came from this barge.
The salvage operation from the grounded bulk carrier ‘Solomon Trader’, which ran aground on 4 February at a Unesco World Heritage site in the Solomon Islands, completed over the weekend, but the oil spill is worse than first thought, its owner King Trader said.
French authorities confirmed to have detected an oil slick at the sinking site of the ro-ro container vessel Grande America, according to the Maritime Prefecture of Atlantic. The slick was detected on March 13, during an overflight by French Navy aircraft.
An oil sheen was reported after the towing vessel ‘St. Rita’ sank on the Mississippi River near Laplace, Louisiana, Thursday. The US Coast Guard and good Samaritans responded to the sinking. The St. Rita is estimated to have approximately 13,000 gallons of diesel onboard.
Korea Protection and Indemnity Club (KP&I) appointed the American salvage company Resolve Marine to oversee the ‘Solomon Trader’ response in the Solomon Islands, in the South Pacific ocean. The Hong Kong-flagged bulk carrier ‘Solomon Trader’ was loading bauxite when it ran aground due to unexpected gale at Kangava Bay.
In case a ship pollutes the waters within the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of a country but does not call at any of that country’s ports, it has not always been clear who has the right to impose penalties. However, according to North P&I Club, a recent European Court of Justice decision comes to provide some clarity on the issue.
Reports claiming that the crewmembers of the Solomon Trader were absent from the ship during the grounding or intoxicated celebrating Chinese are not true, the owner of the ship notes. The MV Solomon Trader was loading bauxite when due to rough seas, it ran aground at Kangava Bay, Rennell Island, on 4 February. Now, there is a high risk that the rest of HFO on the vessel, which is estimated to be more than 600 tonnes, will be released into the surrounding area.
