Powerful winds and unusually high waves rocked Israel’s coasts last week, spilling tons of tar on the beaches, from Rosh Hanikra, in the north near Lebanon, to Ashkelon, in the south at the border of the Gaza strip. More than a week later, the origin of this oil spill, one of the worst that Israel has seen in decades, is not yet known.
Israel’s environment ministry said on Sunday February 28 that at the “Following the opening of an investigation in Greece into the oil Minerva-helen, the latter is not involved in tar pollution on Israeli beaches ”.
Damage to southern Lebanon
The ministry evokes the spill of “Tens to hundreds of tons” bitumen from a ship, and states that “These tar piles could continue to arrive on the beaches of Israel in the coming days depending on the currents and the tide”. Since the previous weekend, army teams, civilians and members of NGOs had scoured the coasts of the country to clean up Israeli beaches.
On Saturday, volunteers from associations and residents, equipped with rakes and shovels, began cleaning up a coastal nature reserve in southern Lebanon, also affected by the major oil spill. Tar is visible along the coastline from the border town of Naqoura to Tire further north. This area, one of the most unspoiled on the Lebanese coast, is home to many sandy beaches and is considered a hotbed of sea turtles.
Ten ships removed from all suspicion
Israeli channel 12 suspected the Minerva-helen to be at the origin of the ecological drama because of its location at sea before the storm. The company had denied. Information on the causes of the oil spill remained limited, due to a “Publication ban” decreed by the Haifa court concerning this case, as explained Release.
Inspectors from the environment ministry arrived in Greece on Saturday to conduct the investigation in cooperation with local authorities. But this investigation “Ruled out this ship as the source of pollution”.
According to the ministry, dozens of ships have been suspected by Israeli inspectors, aided by international agencies. Ten of them have since been removed from suspicion. The investigation will continue said Environment Minister Gila Gamliel:
“We are committed to making all necessary efforts to locate the vessel responsible for this oil spill. There are people responsible for this pollution and we will not allow this environmental crime to go unpunished. “
The minister added to monitor, with the help of the Israeli Air Force, a spot located about 140 kilometers offshore. A theft determined that it was not oil.