The Ministry of Environmental Protection announced Sunday that it had suspected a Greek oil tanker of responsibility for polluting the oil leak on Israel’s Mediterranean coast with tons of black, sticky tar.
Investigators went to Greece and inspected Minerva Helen on Saturday, which is stopped at the port of Piraus.
A ministerial statement said, “Following a thorough, professional and extensive inspection by a Ministry of Environmental Protection inspector and an inspector from [Israel’s] Shipping and port management, the last ship was destroyed as a source of pollution. ”
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The probe was carried out in full cooperation with the Greek authorities and with the involvement of the Greek coast guard, the ministry added, confirming that no communication had taken place with the vessel or the owners at any stage.
The ministry, which initially said they had around ten potentially accountable vessels, said further investigations had turned this into dozens of opportunities. Of these, about ten were considered following studies conducted in collaboration with international organizations.
On Saturday, the ministry announced that a second suspect slick of oil had been identified about 150 kilometers west of Israeli shores, but apparently they were moving away from them.
A storm more than a week ago threw a ton of tar on Israeli beaches, apparently coming out of a boat.
Reports of the pollution first surfaced when a 17-meter (56-foot) dead whale was found dead on the south coast of Israel, along with other wildlife.
Some experts have called the spill as the worst environmental disaster to hit the country’s beaches in decades.
A major clean-up operation was launched, with thousands of Israelis volunteering to help clean up the coast, along with Israeli Nature and Parks Authority staff and even IDF soldiers.
On Wednesday, as the clearance accelerated, the Ministry of Health ordered a precautionary ban on the sale of fish and other seafood from the Mediterranean.