Oil spill fear as cargo ship sinks in English Channel

Environmentalists gave warning of an impending marine catastrophe after a 6,395-tonne cargo ship sank in the Channel yesterday with more than 300 tonnes of oil on board.

The Ice Prince disappeared beneath the waves 28 hours after being abandoned by her crew when her engines failed. For several hours all that was visible of the 100-metre (328ft) vessel was her bow as her stern rested on the seabed, then that too disappeared from sight.

The Greek-registered ship, en route from Scandinavia to Egypt, went down 26 miles southeast of Portland Bill in Dorset.

Much of the cargo of 5,258 tonnes of sawn timber has been washed away, creating a danger to shipping.

She was also carrying 313 tonnes of fuel oil, which could pollute beaches on the South Coast if her tanks leak. Greenpeace called for urgent action to be taken to drain the tanks before the oil starts to leak.

A Dutch salvage company, Smit, had tugs at the site but high winds and heavy seas prevented a line being attached to the ship before she went down. Coastguards are using computer mapping technology to predict where the timber and any oil may come ashore.

Warnings have been broadcast to all shipping about the cargo that came adrift.

The Ice Prince’s crew were rescued in atrocious conditions as the ship drifted off the Devon coast. Twelve crew members were taken off by helicopter and the remaining eight were picked up by the Torbay lifeboat.

Paul Johnston, principal scientist at the Greenpeace research laboratory at Exeter University, said: “If the oil washes up it will cause major problems to wildlife and birds.”

Source:RamblerNews