Environmental disaster from tanker crash ‘narrowly avoided’ – Greenpeace

Commenting on the aftermath of the collision between a tanker and a container ship in the North Sea, Dr Paul Johnston from the Greenpeace Research Laboratories, said:

“We’re not quite out of the danger zone yet, but it’s starting to look like an environmental disaster may have been narrowly averted. When a container ship the length of a football pitch rams into a tanker carrying thousands of tonnes of jet fuel at 16 knots close to sensitive nature sites, the potential for serious harm is huge.

“In terms of minimising any further risks to marine life, the priority should now be to ensure as far as possible that both ships remain afloat, that no further jet fuel leaks from the tanker and that the cargo of the container ship is fully characterised and secured.

“As investigations get underway, we must learn every lesson possible from this incident. Ship collisions, groundings and sinkings are not uncommon. Though an incident of this scale is rare, any such accident has the potential to become an environmental disaster. This incident is a stark reminder of the inherent risks associated with millions of tonnes of oil and oil products floating in tankers on our oceans each and every day. Whether it’s air pollution, climate change or oil spills, fossil fuels are a risk multiplier wherever they are produced, used and found – the sooner we reduce our dependence on them, the better.” 

ENDS

Contact: Greenpeace UK news team at press.uk@greenpeace.org and on 020 7865 8255