floating booms set up

Floating booms were put in place for the first time on Monday March 18 in the area of ​​the sinking of the Great Americain the Bay of Biscay, thanks to the improvement in weather conditions, announced the maritime prefecture of the Atlantic. “Spill response operations continued, with the installation of floating booms and trawls”we read in a press release. “As of today, we are really starting to have weather conditions that allow the launching of equipment. Trawls had already been launched, floating booms are the first time”spokesman for the maritime prefecture Riaz Akhoune told AFP.

Several vessels carry out pollution response operations in the area, including the Argonaute and the Sapeur chartered by the French Navy, but also the Partisan and the Ria de Vigo chartered by the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) or the Spanish tug Alonso de Chaves. A second Spanish tug, the Maria de Maetzu, is expected in the area on Tuesday.

An aerial observation flight was carried out during the day by a plane from the Spanish government agency in charge of maritime protection (Sasemar).

Heaps of scattered heavy fuel oil

Above the wreck, which sank on March 12 at a depth of 4,600 meters after a violent fire, “a surface iridescence dotted with clusters of heavy fuel oil is visible”indicates the maritime prefecture, adding that the initial pollution emitted by the Italian ship during its sinking “drift”, without however specifying the direction. This contamination is “consisting of piles of heavy fuel oil scattered on the surface”says the same source.

Furthermore, “the maritime authorities remain vigilant regarding any illicit discharges of hydrocarbons by opportunistic polluting ships”she points out.

The tugboat Union Lynx, chartered by the shipowner, the Grimaldi company, is carrying out the “towing of a container of non-hazardous material to the port of La Rochelle”. He should then attempt to recover one of the two survival craft from the Great Americalocated adrift about 55 km west of the coast.

The Italian ship, which left Hamburg for Casablanca, sank 333 km west of La Rochelle with 365 containers on board, 45 of which were listed as containing hazardous materials, more than 2,000 vehicles, as well as 2,200 tonnes of heavy fuel oil in its bunkers. Its 27 occupants were rescued and brought back to Brest, where an accidental pollution investigation was opened.

Inspections

The NGO Robin des Bois requests that the ships of the company Grimaldi Lines (the shipowner of the Great America) in stopover or expected in Le Havre in the next few days “be subject to detailed inspections as a matter of urgency”.

These checks must in particular be carried out “in the field of fire-fighting devices, the distribution on board of on-board hazardous materials and the safety of the hundreds of used vehicles awaiting boarding”she said in a statement on Monday.

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