Defra is working with multiple organisations including Cefas and Pollution Response in Emergencies: Marine Impact Assessment and Monitoring (PREMIAM) to assess the impact of last month’s collision off the Humber estuary between the container vessel Solong and the oil tanker Stena Immaculate on water quality and the marine environment.
Replying to parliamentary questions, environment minister Emma Hardy said satellite imagery suggested that no substantial chemical spills had occurred, with fuel and other substances being burnt rather than entering the ocean in substantial quantities.
The only pollution detected so far has been from small plastic pellets (‘nurdles’) that spilled into the North Sea from one container and were seen coming ashore along 5-10km of beach in North Norfolk, and later extending to the Lincolnshire coast and at sea in the Wash.
“This occurrence was predicted by environmental impact modelling, preparations for recovery and containment were made, and the PREMIAM programme was activated for pollution response and marine impact assessment,” said the minister.
“The environmental impact of nurdles depends on their quantity, plastic type and burn state, which are being assessed by teams on the ground. Toxins released when the plastic was burned during the original collision are likely to have been washed away and diluted whilst at sea. Nurdles aren’t toxic, but may pose risks if ingested by wildlife. A thorough clean-up operation is underway, involving drones and other specialist equipment.
“Shrimp fishers in the area have also been advised to take precautions to mitigate risks their product could contain nurdles, although the risk to human health is low.”
She said that now the overall situation had stabilised, the response had moved from a major incident response to the recovery phase, and normal maritime traffic had resumed.
Meanwhile, the owner of the Solong, the vessel responsible for the collision, has taken steps to set up a fund ahead of any ‘verified’ claims against it.
In a statement last week, the owner’s insurance company said it was ‘seeking to face claims’ and was setting up the fund for those who have ‘verified claims against Solong’s owner’.
The owner filed a ‘limitation of liability’ motion last week in the Admiralty Court in London against logistics firm Samskip MCL BV and ‘all other persons claiming or being entitled to claim loss or damage arising out of or in connection with or resulting from the collision’.
The owners of the Stena Immaculate are thought to have filed their own motion, seeking redress against the Solong, which hit the fuel tanker whilst it was moored in an official anchorage, awaiting permission to sail up the Humber.
Claims for compensation from fishing vessels around the Humber are likely to be limited, one of the skippers who was fishing off the Humber at the time told FN.
“There are a couple of boats with pots stuck in the exclusion zone that they can’t get to, and then we had to lose fishing time to come ashore and deep-clean the boat – especially all the pipework for the deckwash and viviers – but we are back fishing as normal now.”
This story was taken from the latest issue of Fishing News. For more up-to-date and in-depth reports on the UK and Irish commercial fishing sector, subscribe to Fishing News here or buy the latest single issue for just £3.50 here.
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