The Minister of the Seas Annick Girardin made the trip to Corsica for the occasion – Pascal POCHARD-CASABIANCA / AFP
The news is reassuring this Sunday, along the eastern coast of Corsica where the prospect of oil pollution is receding. Heavy oil maritime pollution, probably linked to the degassing of a ship, was spotted as early as Friday noon during an exercise conducted by the air base of Solenzara (Corse-du-Sud). “We initially had a slick 35 km long, between Solenzara and Aléria [plus au nord], about ten kilometers offshore, begins Christine Ribbe, captain of the vessel and spokesperson for the
maritime prefect of the Mediterranean. The diversion raised fears of the worst, with detections of oil pellets relatively close to the coast during the day on Saturday.
[COMMUNIQUÉ] The anti-pollution system coordinated by the Maritime Prefecture of the Mediterranean continues off the Corsican coast, in conjunction with @ Prefet2B @ Prefet2A. Find more information in the press release. 👇 #marine pollution pic.twitter.com/UOcixVGUWh
– Maritime Prefecture of the Mediterranean (@Premarmed) June 12, 2021
“A weather and a drift of hydrocarbons which is favorable to us”
Since then, “we have had favorable weather and currents,” continues Christine Ribbe. Hydrocarbons tend to move away from the coast. The first helicopter that left for scouting, this Sunday morning, located most of the pollution about ten kilometers from the coast, north of the Gulf of Porto-Vecchio. And it’s drifting south-east right now. “
What reassure the Corsican elected officials who were preparing with concern for the arrival of heavy hydrocarbons on the sandy beaches of the eastern coast. “We hope to avoid pollution, but it will be complicated,” lamented by telephone Francis Giudici, the mayor of Ghisonaccia, one of the threatened municipalities and whose beaches have been closed. “There is a lot of anger. It is not a small degassing ”, this illegal process at sea by which ships drain the gases from their hydrocarbon tanks, he added. “We didn’t need that at the start of the summer”.
Caution remains in order
The Mediterranean maritime prefecture remains cautious. “The situation can change depending on the drift and the currents,” begins Christine Ribbe. But we are much more reassured this Sunday. No oil pollution has been reported on the Corsican coast and the weather forecasts for the next few days are mild in the area, so that the oil pellets should continue to drift offshore. “
The presence of heavy hydrocarbons, the dissolution of which is difficult and the extent of the two oil slicks, prompted the authorities to launch the Polmar-Terre coastline protection plan on Saturday, which also includes action on the coasts. It remains maintained. The prefect of Haute-Corse François Ravier has prohibited access to the beaches for some forty kilometers, between the municipalities of Aleria to Ventiseri, while the island is experiencing summer weather.
Gendarmes asked bathers to leave certain beaches and signs indicating “swimming prohibited-maritime pollution” were affixed. Fishing is also prohibited in these same sectors.
The decontamination work continues
Offshore, significant resources are still deployed to recover oil. In particular two chartered support and assistance vessels (BSAA), “Pioneer” and “Jason” of the French Navy from the Toulon naval base (Var), arrived on site on Saturday noon. To this are added three other customs and maritime affairs boats, but also air resources to better locate the pollution and thus better guide the pollution control vessels, explains the spokesperson for the maritime prefect of the Mediterranean.
This work resumed at the break of day, this Sunday, and has already made it possible to withdraw three to four tons of hydrocarbons, estimates the maritime prefecture of the Mediterranean. Is a good part of this pollution? “Difficult to say,” replies Christine Ribbe. All the more so as this layer, very concentrated at the start, is gradually breaking up. The dumplings become micro-dumplings and disperse. What complicates the task of the teams on site.
This decontamination work remains essential. “This episode of pollution is partly due to heavy hydrocarbons, much denser than the light ones and which, as such, will not or only slightly dilute in the water,” recalls Chrisitine Ribbe.
One of the worst pollution in recent years
“Degasing hydrocarbons at sea is a pure act of ecological delinquency”, denounced the Minister of Ecological Transition Barbara Pompili, who went on site with the Minister of the Sea Annick Girardin. “We arrived here determined to find those who degassed savagely. I said earlier they are thugs and they will have to be treated like thugs ”, hammered on his side Annick Girardin.
“At this stage, three ships whose presence in an enlarged area around the pollution require investigations to be carried out”, indicated Colonel Jean-Guillaume Remy, commander of the Mediterranean group. This is one of the most significant outgassing pollution observed over the past three years in this Mediterranean area, according to the maritime gendarmerie.