EMEA News
Greenpeace: Extract Bunkers From Sunken Russian Trawler
Environment group Greenpeace Thursday was said to be calling on the Spanish Government to extract bunkers from the Oleg Naydenov, which sunk off the Canary Islands this week, Sputnik News reports.
"Greenpeace demands that the Development Ministry provides information on the plan for pumping fuel from the vessel and describes in detail the situation with the [sunken] trawler," said Greenpeace.
Greenpeace has said the ship is in bad condition and a leak of its cargo poses significant threat to the environment.
"The hull and tanks of a ship in such bad condition could already be breaking up under the kind of pressure found at such depths," it said.
The Russian-flagged trawler is said to have caught fire on Sunday while carrying 1,409 metric tonnes of bunkers.
Greenpeace criticised the decision to tow the burning ship 15 nautical miles out to sea, where it sank, saying oil spills are easier to contain and clean up within harbours or bays.
An oil slick more than 3.5 miles long has been spotted since the ship sunk.
Earlier this month, the Canadian Coast Guard described its handling of a leak of some 2,700 litres of oil in Vancouver as "exceptional by international standards."
