Lanzarote Council worried about oil tanker spillage

The Cabildo of Lanzarote has asked the Moroccan Consulate General to report urgently on the situation of an oil tanker loaded with 5,000 tons of fuel that has run aground in the area of Tan Tan and requested information on the measures it has taken to prevent any contamination reaching the island.

In a statement, the Cabildo de Lanzarote confirms that according to the information available at the moment, the tanker has run aground on the Moroccan coast due to bad weather conditions affecting the area and ‘some’ pollution has occurred, however the amount of oil spilled and the measures taken by Morocco are yet unknown.

“However, the amount of oil spilled , its evolution and the measures taken by Morocco to address the spill is unknown ,” he adds .

Representatives of Los Verdes on the island of Lanzarote have said that the accident is located about 260 kilometers from the coast of the Lanzarote and identified the damage oil vessel as the “Silver Laayoune” and have said that the vessel had just left the Canary Islands.

To clarify what has happened, the Cabildo of Lanzarote has approached the Consul General of Morocco in the Gran Canaria capital, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Mr. Ahmed Moussa, requesting “an estimate of oil spilled into the sea (in tonnes) and the ocean surface covered by the pollution at the present date and time”.

They have also asked for the name and registration number of the vessel, the containment measures taken by the authorities and whether Morocco requires “technical and logistical support to deal with pollution”. In addition, the Cabildo has demanded of the consul of Morocco “confirmation and assurance from the Moroccan authority that the accident is under complete control and that there is no risk of it spreading to the marine environment which could affect the Canary Islands”.