Oil slick off coast visible from space
A satellite picture taken on Tuesday shows the oil spill off the south coast of Ireland
The huge oil slick threatening the south-east coast can be seen from space.
The European Maritime Safety Agency, which is monitoring the spillage, yesterday released satellite photographs of the scene as hopes rise that mild weather conditions in the Celtic Sea will avert an ecological disaster.
The oil slick was expected to hit the coastline in just over two weeks, but changing wind patterns mean it may now be blown further out to sea.
Pollution
The Irish Coast Guard, which along with its British counterpart, is continuing to monitor the pollution from the skies, said the slick had not moved significantly since Tuesday evening.
"The good news is that our medium-range weather forecast shows the wind turning to the west, and even to the north-west and north over the weekend, so that will actually push the slick further offshore," said Irish Coast Guard director Chris Reynolds.
The spill was discovered on Saturday close to where a Russian warship was refuelling and has been estimated at between 500 and 1,000 tonnes. Ireland is continuing diplomatic contacts with Russia over the incident, which environmentalists said had the potential to devastate marine and wildlife, with knock-on effects on seaside tourism and fishing hot-spots.
An Irish tug vessel, MV Celtic Isle, was this evening preparing to carry out tests at the scene to see if the oil can be mechanically cleaned up at sea to limit its harmful impact, although such operations are known to be difficult.
Samples already taken have been sent to a laboratory in Scotland to be "fingerprinted" for comparison against samples of fuel being used in the Russian aircraft carrier.
Test results expected by Friday will also help authorities determine how best to deal with the spillage.
- Brian Hutton
