Moroccan Environment Minister Abdelkader Amara
A Moroccan tanker carrying 5,000 tonnes of fuel that ran aground during a storm last month will have been pumped dry by Monday without any lasting environmental damage, the environment minister said. The Moroccan-flagged “Silver”
hit rocks near the Atlantic port of Tan Tan during a storm on December 23, and there were fears of an ecological disaster.
After several unsuccessful attempts to refloat the vessel, authorities brought in scores of fuel trucks on Tuesday to pump out the fuel.
Since then, “two thirds of the cargo has been offloaded,” Environment Minister Abdelkader Amara said Saturday.
“Expectations are that the operation will be completed over the two days (ending Monday), and the cargo will have been totally removed,” he added.
After that, engineers will again try to refloat the vessel.
The ship was travelling from the Canary Islands when it ran aground, with heavy waves dragging it towards a rocky area, sparking fears of an oil slick on the coast.
Amara said while small leaks into the sea have been reported, “international experts I have met have assured me that there are no (lasting) pockets of pollution.”
The fuel was being transported to a power station in Tan Tan, which lies close to the Western Sahara, about 300 kilometres (190 miles) south of the Moroccan resort town of Agadir.
Source: AFP
GMT 14:48 2018 Wednesday ,17 January
The Romanian sheep nibbling away at US securityGMT 13:45 2018 Tuesday ,16 January
China races to prevent environmental disasterGMT 13:59 2018 Sunday ,14 January
Sea levels off Dutch coast highest ever recordedGMT 17:34 2018 Saturday ,13 January
Dozens still unaccounted for in California mudslidesGMT 12:35 2018 Friday ,12 January
Campaigners slam UK plans on cutting plastic wasteGMT 14:12 2018 Wednesday ,10 January
Alpine air at work? Delhi eyes novel ways to battle smogGMT 15:37 2018 Tuesday ,09 January
2017 the costliest year in US history for natural disastersGMT 15:30 2018 Tuesday ,09 January
Power stacked against SE Asia's poor as China dams MekongMaintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©
Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©
Send your comments
Your comment as a visitor