Pledge to help Lebanon clear oil spill

United Nations and international maritime agencies promised to give Lebanon immediate technical advice today to help clean up an oil slick, and warned the operation could cost more than €50m.

The oil slick has been described as Lebanon’s worst-ever environmental disaster and experts say it could take up to a year to clean up. The accident occurred during Israel’s month-long bombardment, polluting more than 85 miles of shoreline, including parts of Syria, according to UN estimates.

At a meeting near Athens, senior officials from the International Maritime Organisation, the UN Environment Programme, and the European Union said they would appeal for international financial assistance to contain the Mediterranean spill, which remains a potential threat to nearby Cyprus, Turkey and Greece.

The slick was caused by the bombing of a power station near Beirut July 13-15, when about 15,000 tons of oil spilled into the sea – threatening marine life and the local fishing and tourism industries.

UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner said the clean-up had been seriously delayed by Israeli airstrikes which lasted for four weeks after the power station was bombed.

Aerial photographs of the spill – impossible to take during the fighting - were still required to assess the extent of the disaster, he said.

Hostilities involving the Israeli military and Hezbollah militants ended on August 14. Since then experts have travel to the region to help draw up a response plan.

“This is a ... major environmental emergency,” Steiner said. “I’m not aware of any incident with such a four-week delay ... there is an utter urgency for the (U.N.) action plan to be implemented as soon as possible.”

Steiner appealed for governments to provide a list of equipment including skimmer boats, floating containment barriers, pumps and storage trucks.

The operation will be co-ordinated by the Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Response Centre.

The IMO’s role is considered unprecedented because the spill was land-based. However, Efthimios Mitropoulos, the organisation’s secretary-general, said “extraordinary circumstances require extraordinary measures .. we cannot turn a blind eye.”

UNEP Co-ordinator Paul Mifsud said help was immediately offered by the 21 signatories of the Barcelona Convention, which contains protocols regarding pollution of the Mediterranean marine environment. Nine Mediterranean countries as well as the European Commission have already offered assistance.

“Oil is a contaminant and is toxic,” he said. “Oil, water and human livelihood do not mix well.”

Also present at the meeting were Greek Merchant Marine Minister Manolis Kefaloyiannis and government officials from Turkey, Lebanon, Syria and Cyprus.