Operation under way to put out fire on Turkish ship
PULA, 6 February 2008
(photo: FaH)Croatia's ministers of the interior and of the sea, transport and infrastructure, accompanied by the head of Istria County and the mayor of Pula, sailed out on Wednesday to the site of a maritime accident which occurred 13 nautical miles off the northern Croatian Adriatic resort of Rovinj, when the Turkish-flagged cargo ship Und Adriyatik caught fire early this morning.
This afternoon the ship was 11 nautical miles off the west coast of the peninsula of Istria and moving towards the coast south of Rovinj, near Pula.
Initially, the ship could not be approached, and towboats were spraying it with water to prevent its deck from melting and oil and hazardous substances stored within it from spilling into the sea.
"The ship is not sinking yet, but the current is pushing it towards the coast of Istria. There are no visible signs of water pollution around the ship yet," said Istria County Fire Chief Dino Kozlevac.
The minister of the sea, transport and infrastructure, Bozidar Kalmeta, said the neighboring countries of Slovenia and Italy had been informed of the accident and had offered to send help.
Speaking to reporters before he traveled to the site of the accident, Kalmeta said that help was not needed yet and that Croatian emergency services had the situation under control.
Asked how serious the situation was, Kalmeta said, "It is a fact that there are about 1,000 tonnes of oil on the ship . . . but the situation is under control. The only additional problem is that the current is carrying the vessel towards the coast," the minister said.
Kalmeta also commented on what Croatia could do legally considering the fact that the accident occurred within its Ecological and Fisheries Protection Zone (EFPZ) and that the ship was currently in Croatia's territorial waters.
"For this ship and for Turkey, as the country under whose flag the ship sails, the EFPZ went into force back in 2004, and in this case we have full control and jurisdiction. It is important that we have proven that we are capable of controlling the EFPZ and that we responded to the report immediately. We located the ship and then took the necessary measures," Kalmeta said.
He added that Croatia would seek compensation from Turkey for the measures taken so far, referring to the boats and planes that took part in the rescue operation.
Later this afternoon, two fire-fighting planes joined in the rescue operation after the fire made a hole in the deck through which the planes were able to drop fire-extinguishing substances into the ship.
Minister of the Interior Berislav Roncevic confirmed that the fire had broken out in the ship's engine room.
All 22 crew members and nine passengers aboard the burning ship were rescued by the crew of the Greek ship Ikarus Palace, and they were taken to Venice. No one was injured.
The National Emergency Services Centre said that the 193-metre-long ship had been transporting 11 tonnes of hazardous cargo (petroleum products) and 200 trucks to the Italian port of Trieste.
(Hina)
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