The Greek branch of Greenpeace said it
could take months to remove more than 400 tons of oil trapped
inside the wreckage of the Sea Diamond, the Louis Cruise Lines ship
that sank on April 6 off the island of Santorini.
Nikos
Charalampidis, executive director of Greenpeace Greece, said he
hoped the Greek Merchant Marine would pressure Louis to pump the
oil out of the vessel's tanks to avoid a spill. He contended that
the Cypriot cruise line was dragging its feet.
Louis "is moving
slow," Charalampidis said. "Right now the situation is under
control, and there are only small quantities of lubricants and oils
leaking. That will change radically if 400 tons of oil gets into
the sea. They need to pump it out of the ship as soon as
possible."
Louis did not
respond to inquiries about this issue and has not released any
information about the search for two French passengers still
missing from the Sea Diamond or the current investigation into the
accident.
Charalampidis
said that siphoning the oil from the tanks was a complicated
process. Louis has contracted with a company to pump the oil but
has to undergo testing to determine the feasibility of various
pumping methods. The test phase alone could take several weeks,
Charalampidis said, and it could be months before the oil is
removed.
The danger is
that in that time it could begin to leak.
Charalampidis
said that if the oil leaks into the ocean, in a "best case
scenario," only 25% would be recovered.
Normally, he
said, only 10% to 15% can be recovered.
"I am praying,"
he said. "I sit and pray that the situation will not change, and it
will not start to leak."
To contact reporter Johanna Jainchill, send e-mail to [email protected].