The skipper of a Dutch factory ship is to be interviewed about an oil spill off the Irish west coast during the weekend. It has been confirmed that the pollution incident was much smaller than first reported.
The spill, caused by a collision between the Dutch ship and a Spanish fishing vessel 88 miles west of the Aran Islands, is now believed to comprise only about 500 gallons or just under two tonnes. This is based on evidence supplied by an Air Atlantique aircraft equipped with remote sensing equipment.
The slick, which had broken into three parts with a total length of four kilometres yesterday, no longer poses any threat to the Irish coastline, the Department of the Marine and Natural Resources said.
A Department spokesman denied that the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources, Dr Woods, was being "alarmist" when he described it initially as a major incident. Information given by the Dutch skipper after Saturday's collision indicated that the spill from his 70m vessel, Friesland, constituted about 34,000 gallons of intermediate fuel oil and this represented a "serious threat" to this coastline, the spokesman said.
However, given that it was not heavy crude oil, winds had already gone northerly and both vessels were still described as seaworthy, even a slick of that size could have broken up before reaching shore. On Saturday, the Irish Marine Emergency Service (IMES) had estimated that it was about 400m by 100m and was moving south at 15 miles per day.
Both the Friesland, which reported a hole in its bow, and the Spanish vessel, Jose Luisa Y Mary, were proceeding to their home ports.
The possibility that the Dutch skipper gave inaccurate information is to be examined when he is interviewed by his state's coastguard. However, a Department spokesman did not rule out the likelihood that the vessel spilled as much as he had reported, and that most of it had broken up and was no longer evident on the surface. A slick was spotted by an Air Corps Casa maritime patrol aircraft on Saturday.
The incident caused a major alert at the weekend, and came just several days after a report submitted to Dr Woods which made the case for purchasing an emergency towing vessel or tug, to deal with pollution incidents involving shipping off the Irish coast. The Naval Service patrol ship, LE Aisling, was ordered to proceed to the scene, while IMES ran computerised prediction models incorporating sea currents, wind and weather at its headquarters in Leeson Lane, Dublin.
The Fine Gael marine spokesman, Mr Michael Finucane, said the spillage highlighted the need to acquire a specifically designed oil-recovery tug to deal with environmental emergencies.
Under new legislation which extends Ireland's responsibility for dealing with pollution incidents from 12 to 200 miles, reporting of oil pollution incidents or potential incidents is mandatory, and there are penalties of up to £10 million for non-compliance. Last week's report to the Minister by an expert group said an emergency towing vessel which can double for use in fishery protection would be the most "cost effective" option for the State.
