Western Finland the Coast Guard is investigating whether there is reason to suspect a crime in the spill in the Bothnian Sea on Wednesday, says the director of investigation Tommi Lehtonen From the Turku Crime Prevention Unit under the Western Finland Coast Guard.
“We first find out what the substance is so that we know if it has been legal to release it into the sea at all,” says Lehtonen.
“Normally, little substance should be released into the sea, leaving the film on the surface of the water. Then you can almost say that the substance has been mishandled or banned. ”
According to Lehtonen, oil is the most common type of emissions, and an administrative oil spill tax can be imposed on it.
“It is not possible to impose an administrative fee for other substances, in which case it is a criminal investigation into, for example, environmental damage,” says Lehtonen.
Leakage occurred early Wednesday morning, June 8th. The substance spread over an area of more than 100 nautical miles, about 185 kilometers long and 500 meters wide.
The substance has not been spilled on the surface of the water since Friday. According to Lehtonen, the leak caused a thin film that then evaporated from view.
“In practice, the substance could no longer be collected. That is why we did not take any control measures. ”
The composition and origin of the substance are still unknown.
“If it has been a light oil, for example, the volatile constituents will evaporate and the harmful substances will usually remain in the water.”
It is currently known that the leak is at least not mineral oil. Lehtonen estimates that the substance could be washing water used to clean transport tanks that has leaked into the water body.
About the water the samples taken will leave for Monday today at the Central Criminal Police Laboratory for examination. Lehtonen estimates that the composition of the leak will not be clear yet this week.
“I asked the laboratory for an urgent explanation. Depending on their work situation, they will be able to deal with the matter expeditiously. ”
The matter is being investigated together with the Swedish authorities, as the leak occurred in both the Finnish and Swedish economic areas. Lehtonen does not know at what stage the investigation is on the neighbor’s side.
“It is hoped that the Swedes will find out the composition of the substance more quickly,” Lehtonen smiles.
Mereen the origin of the spilled substance is still unknown. However, the narrow and long shape of the leak shows that it was probably a moving vessel, Lehtonen says.
Based on the location and time of the leak, the Coast Guard has determined which vessels have been in the sea area at that time.
“We are aware of seven vessels that have been operating in the area within a reasonable time.”
Lehtonen cannot say what the ships were and where they were going from. He says the vessels will not be contacted at this stage, but the composition of the leak will be determined first.
The Coast Guard is able to determine, based on the location and time of the leak, which vessels have moved in the area at the time of the leak and where the leak could originate.
“We have systems in place to monitor vessel traffic in the area and to extract such information,” Maunu says.
On Friday In the morning, the Western Finland Coast Guard told HS that the leak was suspected to have originated from ESL Shipping’s Rautaruukki-Botnia barge combination, which transported iron ore.
A small cargo leak was observed on board on Thursday morning while the combination was at an anchorage in Oxelösund awaiting access to a port off the coast of Sweden.
The shipping company said the Swedish Coast Guard had signaled that the connection of this cargo spill to environmental emissions was highly unlikely.
At this stage, Director of Investigation Lehtonen is unable to confirm the information.
On Sunday The Western Finland Coast Guard reported that an Estonian ship sunk in 1994 was leaking oil into the Baltic Sea. According to the Coast Guard, light fuel oil is likely to leak into the water. To confirm this, the Border Guard has taken a sample of the substance.
Small amounts of oil have seeped out of the wreck in the past, but now the leak seems to have clearly increased.
“Estonia has once been drained of oil, but not everything has been removed from it. Oil may have been left in your pockets, from where you can get up from time to time. Oil spills can be related to water temperature, for example, ”says Lehtonen.
There is no ongoing investigation into Estonia’s emissions. According to the Coast Guard, the Estonian leak has no connection with the leak detected in the Bothnian Sea on Wednesday.
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