Tourists beaches in the Canary Islands are in the path of a massive oil slick, which is already 2.5 kilometres long and 400 metres wide, and has led to an emergency being declared
A Spanish holiday island has declared an emergency due to a huge oil slick which is heading towards popular tourist beaches.
Two beaches on Gran Canaria, one of the Canary Islands, have already been closed and there are fears others will follow. The island corporation is helping to coordinate an action plan to tackle the slick that has reached the waters of the capital and Telde, while it is advancing towards the south eastern coasts.
The beaches of San Borondón and Palos, in Telde, are already now closed. The Directorate of the Insular Civil Protection Plan of Gran Canaria-PEIN of the Cabildo declared an emergency situation due to an episode of marine pollution from 1pm this Thursday, in the municipalities of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Telde.
It follows the spill of three tons of fuel oil that occurred during the early hours of the morning, inside the Virgen del Pino dock in Puerto de La Luz and Las Palmas. It has generated a fuel stain in the capital’s port area and has now reached the beach of Bocabarranco reported Gran Canaria’s Cabildo.
Island councillor for the environment, Raúl García Brink, held a meeting today with representatives of the city councils of the capital, Telde and the municipalities of the southeast, given that there is a risk that the oil slick could reach their coasts. Mr Brink stressed “the full willingness of the Cabildo to collaborate in everything that is necessary and to provide all the necessary means to face this situation and solve it as soon as possible”.
The fuel oil slick, already 2.5 kilometres long and 400 metres wide, is advancing at 0.5 miles per hour and is expected to accelerate due to the currents in the areas where it is heading.
“This stain has already reached the Telde coast of La Garita and continues to advance south eastwards, in a trajectory that endangers the natural spaces of Jinámar, Tufia and Punta de la Sal,” said the environment councillor. There are fears that the oil slick will harm the environment, including birds. as well as hitting the beaches.
Maritime Rescue is trying to disperse and evaporate the stain, as well trying to prevent the fuel oil from affecting the Jinámar desalination plant. A statement from Telde council reads: “Telde City Council proceeds to close the beaches of San Borondón and Palos, which are added to the restriction of access to La Restinga, after the advance and subsequent arrival of the fuel oil spill on the Telde coast, which originated on the night of this past Wednesday in the Port of La Luz and Las Palmas.
“The mayor of Telde, Juan Antonio Peña, has travelled to the affected area to find out about the current situation and supervise the tasks that Maritime Rescue is carrying out on the coast of the city. It should be noted that, despite the attempts of Maritime Rescue to dilute the spill as much as possible, through its boats, both the meteorological and marine conditions of the area and the large amount of fuel spilled, are complicating the work.”
“Local Police officers from Telde and staff from Proactiva, the company in charge of the rescue and lifeguard service in the municipality, have also been mobilised to the site. It is important to highlight that the Government of the Canary Islands, through the General Directorate of Emergency, has declared a state of emergency (regional level) due to marine pollution, due to what happened after the spill of fuel oil during a fuel supply manoeuvre to a ship, inside the Virgen del Pino dock, in the Port of La Luz and Las Palmas.”
“The Telde City Council, through its official X account (@ayun_telde) is transmitting, minute by minute, the latest news on everything that has happened on the city’s coast. Thus, all those people who want to know the current situation regarding the state of emergency due to marine pollution in Telde, can find out through this channel.”
The government of the Canary Islands says: “The Government of the Canary Islands has decided to raise the Territorial Emergency Plan for Civil Protection of the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands (PLATECA) to emergency level 2, activated since last night in the pre-alert phase, due to a fuel oil spill during a transfer manoeuvre between two ships at the Virgen del Pino Dock in the Port of La Luz, in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, which has escaped the containment barriers and the port area itself and is heading towards the coastal area, with the affected municipalities being for the moment the capital of Gran Canaria and Telde.
“The PLATECA had already been activated in pre-alert phase at 11:06 pm yesterday, September 4, shortly after learning of the start of the incident, and in alert status at 9am this morning due to the imminent risk of the spill reaching the coast. This decision was taken after analysing the evolution of the spill and having activated the National Maritime Plan in Emergency phase, situation 1.”
“After analysing the evolution of the spill during the night and verifying that it had overcome the containment barriers and could head towards the coast, the General Directorate of Emergencies has held a coordination meeting with all the institutions involved since 10sm to analyse the situation and possible consequences of the fuel spill and to adopt the appropriate decisions.”
“The spill has already reached the beaches of Bocabarranco and La Restinga in Telde and it is not ruled out that it will reach other areas.” The mayor of Telde says he will demand responsibility, as the fuel is sinking and may affect the fishing area
