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Sunday in Klaipeda was hot not only because the temperature reached 30 degrees. Many special service workers rushed to the port and beaches to pick up the stinky stuff from where they knew.
The origin is unclear
“On Sunday, the most important thing was to manage the situation so that the contaminating spot in the port area was located as soon as possible, as much as possible collected. On Monday, our main task is to find out the origin and origin of the contamination. “We are exploring the entire water area of the port, we are doing everything possible to identify the source of pollutants. Today, this is the most important thing for us,” explained Algis Latakas, Director General of the Klaipeda State Port Authority, the Monday in the morning.
It is important to know if the same material has spread to the sea and the port area.
On Sunday, 350 m of barricades were built in Winter Bay and petroleum products were collected. Because the contaminants were captured along with the water, it was not possible to determine their exact amount.
By noon Monday, about 100 cubic meters had been collected along with the water. All the mass will be poured into special containers, processed and disposed of. Only then will it be possible to tell how much oil was collected.
Specialists examine samples for contaminants and try to determine their chemical composition. The samples are analyzed in a Kaunas laboratory.
“This substance is not similar to what can normally be seen in daily activities. What are pollutants, there are different opinions. Now it would be unfair to say something about it. Let’s wait for the results of the investigation. Both we and environmentalists work, I am I’m sure we will know very soon. “It is important to find out if the same material has spread in the sea and in the water area of the port,” said A. Latakas.
Raised red flags
The head of the port authority could not say when the pollutants reached the sea.
Preliminary information indicates that pollutants entered Winter Bay, which is near the North Cape, from the harbor waters. According to unconfirmed data, they left this bay.
The contamination was detected there at 6 p.m. Sunday. in the morning. All these statements will still be tested by specialists.
The same day around 1 p.m. A pollution spot in the sea has also been reported.
One spot came closer to shore, vacationers told beach rescuers. They complained of nasty steam, showed where the pollutants had reached the shore, made sure they were spotted.
Several small spots were also observed in Smiltyne.
Rescuers initially urged people to avoid stink stains through the speakers and then raised red flags prohibiting bathing. Swimming is not recommended at all Klaipeda beaches.
On the seashore, up to Giruliai, there was a long vapor of petroleum products. The vast majority of tourists were no longer sailing out to sea, people were very active discussing the ecological disaster and observing the brightly colored boats involved in the rescue operation near the pier.
Three ships of the Port Authority, one of the border guards, entered the sea. Until there was a surge, firefighters also sailed behind the harbor gate.
Rolandas Milius, chief specialist of the Klaipėda County Fire and Rescue Board’s Operational Management Division, stated that nine firefighters were working at sea on Sunday.
The accusations were rejected by the British
Among other versions, it is being investigated whether petroleum products may have entered the Curonian lagoon after the British ship Mooring Perl Island blocked the pier last Thursday.
Then the people did not suffer and the porters began to assess the damages and losses suffered.
Algis Latakas / Photo by Vytautas Liaudanskis
The ship was empty, he came to collect a cargo of grain. It is not yet clear why it hit the pier.
On Monday A. Latakas said that after a thorough inspection, it was indicated that it was necessary to repair their warehouses.
“The fact of this accident is not really related to the spill,” said the port administrator.
Concentrated forces
On Sunday, the Maritime Rescue Coordination Center joined the works to locate and neutralize pollutants. The forces were mobilized by the Emergency Management Center, the army, border guards and firefighters.
All possible forces seized the material released from the sea by an unknown person and shared information where there are still points of contamination.
The porters received help from the Port Authority with boats, equipment and hood barriers.
Most of these dams were lowered into the water near the north pier, because when the wind changed in the afternoon, it was there that the waves carried the pollutants. It was kind of a hit because they weren’t noticed elsewhere anymore.
Officials from the State Border Guard conducted a reconnaissance by helicopter, but found no more places on the surface of the sea.
At approximately 9 p.m. all the dams that have fulfilled their functions are transported to the port.
Awaiting investigation
On Sunday night it was said that there was no more pollution in the sea.
On Monday morning, Port Authority employees surrounded the port’s water area, carefully inspected the port companies for major leaks, and the ships had sailed outside the port gate. He looked to see if any contaminants remained.
The crews of the ships that were on the outer raid were also asked to look around. No spots were observed in the sea in the morning.
Noted: A. Siakki heard complaints from tourists about the smell emanating from the water, and many were stained with fuzzy material floating on the surface. / Photo by Vytautas Liaudanskis
“The most important thing for us now is not to think about the penalties for the perpetrators, but to deal with the current situation, collect all the pollutants, find out everything and only then talk about punishing the perpetrators,” said A. Latakas.
On Monday afternoon, Klaipėda Beach Rescue Commander Aleksandras Siakki assured that the smell is no longer felt on the seashore, but that in one place or another near the coast traces of pollutants are being observed .
Rescuers were not notified of the incident in the port, they were the first to point out the spread of petroleum products on the beaches.
A. Siakki said that on the initiative of rescuers, marine samples were taken from all beaches on Monday, and it is expected if it is still not safe to swim on the beaches of Klaipėda.
I did not hide the criticism
Klaipėda Mayor Vytautas Grubliauskas was not inclined to say that all the works went smoothly on Sunday.
The mayor’s commendable word goes to the new port manager A. Latakas, on Sunday after 8 am. who reported the incident at the port in the morning. It then appeared that the contamination could be located in the port, so there was no rush to sound the alarms.
Yesterday afternoon, the mayor said that he understood that the accident was that he still did not know where and which ship crashed, it was not even clear if the same pollutants had spread in the sea and in the port. The border helicopters captured large spots a couple of nautical miles from the coast.
“I understand that there was a mechanism and an algorithm to deal with such an accident, but all the circuits worked in a coordinated way only in theory. There were some gaps in practice. An example was when – detergents, because it seems unclear what substance has been spread, although visually and odorously it seemed to be the ship’s fuel, I wonder if the port should have at least half a ton of those detergents, but environmentalists do not allow them to be used in an emergency, in whom do I need to keep them. which also partially complicated the situation. As far as I could tell, on Sunday, an extremely hot day, many executives were on vacation, not all of them answered phone calls. I think that when we talk about some kind of disaster or accident, talking about vacation is not can These are also lessons worth learning, ”said V. Grubliauskas.
When the pollutants were no longer available to the crew of the lifeboat “Šakiai” and the firefighters and municipal specialists still could not reach them from the shore, according to the mayor, there was a coordination problem.
It is emphasized that the sooner the origin of the pollutants is established, the sooner the culprits can be found.
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