Report: Greek tanker suspected of oil spill that has polluted Israeli beaches

A crude oil tanker sailing under a Greek flag and currently anchored off Cartagena in Spain has been named by the Israeli news agency as the suspect in an oil spill accident that has hit most Central beaches. to cover the land of Israel in tar.

Public broadcaster Kan on Monday said Greek-owned Minerva Helen, who began his working life in 2004, was suspected in this month’s incident and had previously been involved in an oil spill just near Copenhagen, Denmark, in January 2008.

The earlier spill, of 200 tonnes of oil, (just over 200,000 liters) occurred when a hose broke while oil was being loaded onto another vessel.

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Approaching Kan, the Greek company that owns the ship has denied involvement in the alleged spill off the coast of Israel, saying, “We are not the source of the leak. , “and further denies responsibility for what happened off the coast of Denmark.

Channel 12 news said European agencies assisting Israel with investigations could identify the suspect “probably soon” and those responsible could be identified.

Photographs of tar pollution on Israeli northern beaches, taken by helicopter by the Director of the Israeli Nature and Parks Authority, Shaul Goldstein, on February 22, 2021.

On Monday night, at a cabinet meeting to discuss emergency funding for the cleanup, politics was rejected and the Ministry of Finance refused to accept the request of the Ministry of Environmental Protection. The meeting ended indefinitely and a phone vote was expected later Tuesday.

Reports of pollution on the Israeli coast emerged Thursday when a 17-meter-long dead whale was killed on Israel’s southern coast, along with other wildlife.

Veterinarians take samples from a 17-meter whale landed on Nitzanim beach, near the city of Ashkelon, February 21, 2021. (Flash90)

The government on Sunday advised the Israelis to avoid Mediterranean beaches from north to south because of the pollution.

The coast remained largely polluted, especially in rocky areas, the Israeli Nature and Parks Authority reported Monday afternoon.

The INPA estimated that it will take a long time to clear the tar pollution from the beaches and rocky areas, including the abrasive platforms that are habitats for many sea creatures. These are areas of bedrock that extend from the base of coastal cliffs to shallow waters.

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