Thousands of Guillemots chicks are currently hatching at Bear Island. When they leave their nests in three-four weeks, they risk jumping straight into diesel oil leaking from the ship wreck, Nordlys.no writes.
The vessel had 50 tons of diesel oil, 690 liters of lubricating oil and three barrels of hydraulic oil on board when it ran aground. Because of rockslides from the mountain side behind “Petrozavodsk”, the vessel has not yet be secured. As the winter ice completes its retreat on the cliff tops, the amount of falling rocks has lessened, allowing pollution control measures to be taken.
Personnel from the Norwegian Coast Guard and the company Titan Salvage have been on board the freezer ship and are preparing to empty it for the remaining oil, Svalbardposten.no reports.
As BarentsObserver reported, the captain and mate of “Petrozavodsk” were both sentenced to prison for breaking the Maritime Code. The captain was sentenced to 18 days of prison for drinking alcohol while on duty, while the vessel’s mate was sentenced to 40 days of prison for sleeping on duty, so that the vessel entered a protected area and ran aground.
