https://www.europesays.com/1923844/ Ecuador battles spreading oil slick, residents without water #BarrelsOfOil #CrudeOil #CrudeOilPrice #DrinkingWater #Ecuador #EnvironmentalEmergency #EsmeraldasRiver #JulioGalarza #OilPrice #OilSlick #Petroecuador #petroleum #SubsistenceLiving #TankerTrucks
A view of an oil slick at Tanjong Beach on Sentosa, #Singapore June 15. REUTERS/Edgar Su
Crippled British bulk carrier remains abandoned in Red Sea as pollution fears mount
By Paul Godfrey, UPI
Published Feb 29, 2024
"British bulk carrier badly damaged in a missile strike by Houthi rebels more than a week ago remains at anchor but abandoned in the Red Sea waiting to be towed to a port as fears grow of a #pollution catastrophe.
"The Feb. 18 strike on the #Rubymar, which is awaiting towing to the Saudi Arabian Port of Jeddah after the nearby ports of Djibouti and Aden refused to accept it, caused an 18-mile #OilSlick with concern now mounting over its cargo of fertilizer, according to U.S. Central Command.
"The M/V Rubymar was transporting over 41,000 tons of #fertilizer when it was attacked, which could spill into the Red Sea and worsen this #EnvironmentalDisaster," CENTCOM said.
"The crew abandoned ship when it began taking on water after being targeted by two missiles, one of which badly damaged the engine room, as it was transiting the 20-mile-wide Bab al-Mandab Strait 35 miles south of the Yemeni port city of Al Mukha.
"Athens, Greece-headquartered shipping broker #BlueFleetGroup told CNBC that the semi-submerged vessel was awaiting assistance from the U.S. Navy to tow it to Jeddah but had no information about the oil spillage.
"The International Maritime Organization said it was closely monitoring the situation.
"'Oil being a highly toxic substance means that any oil spill has adverse impacts on the surrounding environment and communities, the degree of which depends on several factors such as the quantity released and the sea current,' said #Greenpeace spokesman #JulienJreissati.
"'In the case of Rubymar, beyond the oil leakage coming from the engine room, another risk originates from its potential fertilizer cargo.'"
