Two suspects after Norway oil spill

by Hans | August 7th, 2009

Work on clearing up oil following the grounding of the Panama-registered bulk carrier Full City is in progress on the Norwegian south coast. The Norwegian Coastal Administration reports that observations from aircraft on Wednesday showed only very small quantities of oil spill still drifting on the sea.
   The Chinese master of the Full City is suspected of gross negligence and failure to follow report regulations. The police in Telemark interrogated several of the crew on Wednesday. The third mate is now also suspected of criminal conduct, for not keeping watch on the bridge. Prior to the grounding, the Full City was anchored off the coast and the master told the Norwegian police that the anchor had dragged just before midnight on Thursday night during the storm. The vessel then drifted in a northerly direction for more than half an hour from where it was anchored until it went aground at Såstein. The area where the Full City was anchored is not monitored by the local traffic centre.
   When the ship grounded, it was carrying more than 1,100 tons of oil, most of it heavy fuel oil. The Full City now has about 600 to 800 tons of oil still on board, which is being transferred to the still intact areas on the ship. Extensive damage to the hull has resulted in water leaking into most of the areas on board. This means that it is still not possible to accurately assess how much oil remains in the vessel, or how much oil has leaked out.
   Aircraft from the Swedish Coast Guard are participating in inspections and leading the three Swedish environmental rescue vessels, which are assisting in the oil clearance work. The Swedish Coast Guard has also provided four beach clearance units, small boats that can operate in shallow water.
   Local politicians in the area affected have sharply criticised the lack of preparedness for oil spills and in an appeal to the Norwegian government they are demanding that more and larger tugs and equipment for oil spill prevention and response be provided.
   Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg has promised that improvements will be made. In a meeting with representatives of the shipping industry, the Norwegian government has put together a plan for future work on preventing further oil catastrophes. The government wants to work internationally to make it more difficult to use heavy fuel oil on ships.