Finnish vessels fight spreading oil slick in icy Gulf of Finland

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Oil that was released into icy water off the Estonian coast in the Gulf of Finland is moving quickly with the winter ice. The Finnish oil cleanup vessels Halli, Hylje, and Seili began their work on Thursday near the northern coast of Estonia, where blocks of ice, some of which were piled into large packs, were stained black by oil over a large area.
      The spill involves both light and heavy fuel oil in the tens of tonnes. Officials believe that the oil came from a ship, Runner 4, which sank on March 5th, and lies on the bottom of the sea at a depth of about 70 metres. The ship was registered in Dominica.
      The floating ice is carrying the oil westward. On Thursday, the Finnish vessels were collecting it more than 50 kilometres away from where Runner 4 sank.
      Finland sent its vessels to the area at its own expense, because Estonia does not have oil slick fighting equipment that would be effective in icy winter conditions. In addition to neighbourly solidarity, a certain amount of national self-interest is also involved: the Finns want to get as much oil as possible out of the sea before it drifts onto the Finnish shore.
     
Estonian planes have been flying over the area to assess the dimensions of the oil slick, but were hampered on Thursday by wind and fog.
      An Estonian vessel, EVA 316, was also on hand. The border guard ship was recently been modified to serve as an oil cleanup vessel. However, on Thursday it had to focus on breaking ice, because the brand-new technology required the services of a specialist, who was waiting on shore; the poor weather prevented him from reaching the ship on Thursday.
      "An oil accident in such thick ice is a precedent on the global level", noted Silver Vahtra, of the Estonian border guard, who is responsible for action against oil spills.
      At the same time, Estonia is debating a proposal to set up a special fund for fighting oil spills, along a Finnish model. The fund would be financed by a fee that all tanker vessels arriving in Estonia would be required to pay . The bill, which has been put forward by the Estonian Ministry of the Environment, has faced resistance in the country’s government, as it is feared that it could hurt the competitiveness of Estonia’s seaports.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Finland sends two vessels to fight oil spill off Estonian coast (16.3.2006)

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