Following the sinking of the oil tanker Agia Zoni II off the Port of Piraeus, oil clean-up efforts are continuing in the area.
Namely, Greek authorities requested the mobilization of an oil spill response vessel which is contracted by the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) from the Greek company, Environmental Protection Engineering (EPE), and is operating in the Aegean Sea.
The vessel has been on site since 11:00 a.m. local time, September 13, and is recovering the oil leaking out of the wreck under the command of the Greek authorities.
In order to assess the extent of the spill, the Greek authorities also requested additional satellite images from EMSA.
“This assistance to the Greek authorities clearly demonstrates the added advantage Member States can have by requesting additional response assets which are available across the European coastline and can be mobilised quickly. It also highlights the responsiveness of EMSA’s satellite image service,” Markku Mylly, EMSA Executive Director , said.
Built in 1989, the Aktea OSRV has a storage capacity for recovered oil of 3,000m3, a heating capacity of 3,000kW and a pumping capacity of 1,000m3/h.
In addition to the deployment of Aktea OSRV, floating dams have been installed in areas along the Cynosoura Bay and Salinas Bay of Selini, as well as between the Naval Proximity School and the Zea Marina. Tank trucks have been used to clean up the pollution, the Hellenic Coast Guard said in a separate statement.
Furthermore, patrol boats, anti-pollution vessels, floating crane with floating dams, and tugs continue to operate in the wider area of the sunken ship, the coast guard added.
As World Maritime News previously reported, the double-bottomed oil tanker Agia Zoni II sank while at anchorage west of the Port of Piraeus, on September 10. The vessel had 2,200 tons of fuel oil and 370 tons of marine gas oil on board. Panagiotis Kouroumblis, Minister of Shipping and Island Policy, earlier said that the relevant authorities managed to almost completely seal the tanker.
However, an oil spill was reported in the area, with the east coast of Salamina Island being polluted.