French coast guard personnel and salvage experts on Saturday pumped dry the fuel tanks of a shipwrecked Spanish cargo vessel that broke apart in a storm on France's Atlantic coast.
The operation limited the pollution risk from the 20-year-old vessel, which split into three sections after smashing into a breakwater near the port of Bayonne on Wednesday, a government official for the region said.
The crews pumped out between 85 and 90 tonnes of diesel fuel before forecast strong winds returned to the area, the official, Patrick Dallennes, told reporters.
Around 20 tonnes of fuel dispersed into the sea following the accident, according to authorities.
Attention was now being turned to breaking down the wrecked ship and removing it from the water, a responsibility of the Spanish owner of the vessel. That phase was expected to take weeks, once a company was selected to carry it out.
A preliminary investigation into the accident has not identified any criminal liability.
A source close to the investigation said the ship had come empty from Spain to pick up a cargo of ball-bearings.
As it tried to enter Bayonne's port late Tuesday it suffered an electrical malfunction that left it drifting for a while. On Wednesday, with power restored and two tugboats helping, it tried again to enter port but a new blackout occurred, leaving it helpless in the water, at which point it struck the breakwater.
French coast guard personnel and salvage experts on Saturday pumped dry the fuel tanks of a shipwrecked Spanish cargo vessel that broke apart in a storm on France’s Atlantic coast.
The operation limited the pollution risk from the 20-year-old vessel, which split into three sections after smashing into a breakwater near the port of Bayonne on Wednesday, a government official for the region said.
The crews pumped out between 85 and 90 tonnes of diesel fuel before forecast strong winds returned to the area, the official, Patrick Dallennes, told reporters.
Around 20 tonnes of fuel dispersed into the sea following the accident, according to authorities.
Attention was now being turned to breaking down the wrecked ship and removing it from the water, a responsibility of the Spanish owner of the vessel. That phase was expected to take weeks, once a company was selected to carry it out.
A preliminary investigation into the accident has not identified any criminal liability.
A source close to the investigation said the ship had come empty from Spain to pick up a cargo of ball-bearings.
As it tried to enter Bayonne’s port late Tuesday it suffered an electrical malfunction that left it drifting for a while. On Wednesday, with power restored and two tugboats helping, it tried again to enter port but a new blackout occurred, leaving it helpless in the water, at which point it struck the breakwater.
