A Sideways Glance

The sea, our great treasure

Just so we can see how sensitive the matter of the "sea", the case of "shipping" and the value of the "environment" are... Early on the morning of 28 August, in the Myrtoan Sea east of the Peloponnese, a few metres out from an islet called "Karavi", the captain of the Togoflagged cargo ship Sea Bird, goes and grounds it! The ship was travelling from Ukraine to Tunisia, carrying 7,000 tons of wheat and about 150 tons of fuel.

The Coastguard is mobilized, the Operations Room notified, sirens start blaring and telephones ringing, and a fleet of lifeboats, tugs, anti-pollution vessels and a Coastguard patrol boat sail to the site of the wreck! In next-to-no time, the sixteen crew members have been rescued and the battle with threatening pollution has begun!

Six specialized salvage tugs with anti-pollution equipment (booms, skimmers, pumps, absorbent materials, diving equipment, etc.) sail at full speed to the scene of the accident and join the Coastguard's antipollution vessels in their work! The tugs involved in the operation are: Dolphin I and Megalochari XIV (both of MegaTugs Salvage & Towage), Christos XXVII (Spanopoulos), Eco Piraeus (Antipollution), and Aegis I and Aktaia (of the Polychronopoulos group).

At the same time, air (by drone) and marine inspections commence, with the aim of identifying oil spills to facilitate an efficient allocation of resources.

During the inspections, extensive oil spills are detected up to seven miles south of the wreck site. The vessels are then placed in such a way as to cover the largest possible area for clean-up, by dropping and hauling booms, collecting oil from the sea surface using a skimmer and skimmer vessel, and also by using absorbent materials. At the same time, in full cooperation and coordination with the Ministry of Shipping and the port authorities, the air and sea inspections continue on a daily basis and with uninterrupted intensity, as well as the collection of oil from the sea surface in the following days, while an inspection of the neighbouring coasts is already planned to locate any pollution sites. All of this is to keep our shores and seas clean...

Have you realised the magnitude of this mobilization? Vessels, crews, fuel, materials... A massive expense, which, of course, will be covered by the insurance company covering the ship. Massive funds are available to combat marine pollution. Shipping is a towering presence in our country... and its seas, our greatest treasure!

Dimitris Kapranos