Under “close surveillance” of the Andalusian coast. This is how the Environment agents of the Andalusian Government are after a “small” spill of plastic pellets very similar to the one found in Galicia appeared on the Cádiz coast, specifically on the Tarifa beach of Bolonia. At the moment, the device activated to control the situation has already taken samples, some 4 millimeter balls, to analyze it, as stated by the Minister of Sustainability, Environment and Blue Economy, Ramón Fernández-Pacheco.
As reported by Emergencies 112, the only point affected by the arrival of pellets is the base of the Bolonia dune, a protected place considered a natural monument that is part of the Strait of Gibraltar Natural Park, although the work team willing to do so In the face of this crisis, it is closely monitoring the Huelva coastline in case the arrival of new material is detected.
Both Verdemar Ecologistas and Agaden Ecologistas en Acción have announced that they will ask the Maritime Captaincy for the itinerary of the CSAV Toconao ship, flying the Liberian flag, from where several containers it was carrying fell into the water off the Portuguese coast, one of them loaded with 26 tons of these little balls.
Agaden, for its part, has also requested the regional Executive to activate the emergency level so that both the regional and state administrations work together to clean the area and reduce its pollution as much as possible, as echoed by Southern Europe. .
It is a “punctual” dumping of pellets, 112 Emergencies has pointed out, which was reported by an individual who was walking on Bolonia beach on Wednesday. Since then, a work group made up of agents from the Local Police, Civil Guard, Infoca, members of the Environment of the Junta and the Andalusia Emergency Group have been working in the area to control it. For his part, the mayor of Tarifa (Cádiz), José Santos Perea, has assured that surveillance is “total” and they are “expectant” in case more plastic pellets “continue to appear” on the beach of Bolonia or in other areas of the municipal area to launch a device and “try” to study a way to eliminate this spill and clean the coastline.
Now, the different teams are coordinating to clean Cadiz waters of these pellets, which are used to manufacture almost all plastic products, such as water bottles, containers or bags, while increasing vigilance in Huelva to “safeguard the rich diversity of our coastal natural heritage,” they reported from Emergencies 112, although they have confirmed that no spill has been detected in the Huelva area.
The delegate of the Junta in Huelva, José Manuel Correa, also assured this morning that, “at the moment, no remains of the spill have arrived in the province of Huelva, while he stated that “the operation is available, prepared and activated, in case it appears, to be able to alleviate any problem or any element that appears on our coasts and to be able to eliminate it immediately.”
Correa has commented that “there is no concern” about the appearance of any spill in the area, because “although the tides are difficult to control, and what has appeared in the Cádiz area has not yet been identified, with the days that have passed past it is difficult for them to appear”.
Although the origin of this spill is still unknown for certain and if it is part of the same cargo that appeared in Galicia at the beginning of January, environmental groups in Cádiz are going to demand that the Navy Captaincy provide information about the freighter that transported these containers and which lost part of its cargo against Portugal on December 8.
For Verdemar, there are data that do not add up. As indicated by the organization in a letter, they want to know if the ship was anchored 90 miles from Safí, in Morocco and they are going to request the track of the ship because “some dates do not coincide with what was reported.”
In this sense, they have explained that they do not know if it diverted its navigation and was one day (from December 27 to 28) 90 miles from the Moroccan city of Safí, if it later docked in the port of Tangier Med and crossed the Strait on day 31 to the port of Piraeus, Greece. “We believe that the ship is now in the port of Canakkale, Turkey and that it should have been stopped while crossing the Strait of Gibraltar,” she added.
In the opinion of Verdemar-Ecologistas en Acción, “since the appearance of the pellets, the ship should have been detained and that is why we are going to request the track and movements of the ship to clarify the last minute events, very strange, since that some dates do not coincide with what is narrated”.
In this sense, he has indicated that “apparently it was sailing 50 miles west of the Portuguese coast, off Viana do Castello, transporting 26 tons of plastic pellets distributed in 1,000 bags and, according to what has been learned, on 8 December, the ship loses part of the containers and they end up in the ocean and now pellets are found in Tenerife and Tarifa”.
The European Commission, for its part, has already warned that the spill off the Galician coast “threatens the marine environment and economic activities such as fishing.” Furthermore, the Court of First Instance and Instruction number 2 of Noia (A Coruña) has agreed to initiate proceedings for the possible existence of a crime against natural resources and the environment.