Marine

27.7, ‘deliberate pollution’ charge

France: a French environmental organisation Robin des Bois attacked plans to release the 10,000 tonne phosphoric acid cargo of sunken acid tanker Ece into the English Channel as “deliberate pollution.” Following discussions with Ece ’s Turkish owner and the owner of its cargo, the Moroccan Office Cherifien des Phosphates, the French and British authorities have adopted an action plan that involves removing an estimated 40 tonnes of heavy fuel from the wreck of Ece by pumping and releasing its cargo of phosphoric acid into the sea. The authorities’ claim that the environmental impact of the release of the phosphoric acid would be minimal was challenged, however, by Robin des Bois, which claimed the acid contains numerous toxic heavy metals that would remain in the sea, poisoning marine life and contributing to the proliferation of toxic green seaweed and plankton on the French coast. The release of the acid ran counter to the objectives of the 1992 Ospar Convention, which sought to prevent pollution in the North East Atlantic and had been signed by the UK and France, Robin des Bois said.