Terminal operators downplay oil spill in Black Sea
Scientists say spill from Greek-flagged tanker worse than reported.
An oil spill near the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) marine terminal in the Black Sea may be worse than first reported.
Initial reports said a small spill emanating from the 159,000 DWT Greek-flagged M/T Minerva Symphony covered an area of approximately 200 square yards, but this has been contested by scientists from the Russian Academy of Space, who are monitoring the spill by satellite and say it now covers up to 20,000 acres.
CPC has since admitted that a hydraulic compressor broke while crude was being loaded onto the ship and said: “According to the information on the morning of August 8, the situation was back to normal and posed no hazard to the local population or flora and fauna of the Black Sea. CPC has set up an ad hoc commission to investigate the causes and conditions of the incident.”
According to a report on Reuters, Deputy Prime Minister Viktoria Abramchenko has intervened, ordering an assessment of the scale and impact of the spill.
