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Brazil authorities zero in on ship suspected of oil spill

Posted November 01, 2019 7:00 am

The Associated Press

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) - Brazilian police are carrying out search warrants at offices linked to a Greek-flagged ship suspected of spilling large quantities of oil along the country's northeast coast.

Authorities said Friday that federal police and prosecutors are coordinating the operation at a maritime agency and the Rio de Janeiro headquarters of a company that hasn't yet been named.

Brazil's federal prosecutors say in a statement that there is "no indication of another boat" that could have discarded the Venezuelan crude oil.

The statement says the Greek-flagged ship had been held in the United States for four days due to problems "in the system to separate water and oil for discharge into the ocean."

As of Thursday, 286 beaches in Brazil's northeast had been affected by the crude spill.

Arivaldo Sousa walks carrying a fishing net at Itapua beach in Salvador, Brazil, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2019. Sousa normally harvests 175 pounds (80 kilograms) of lobster per month but has fished a mere fraction of that recently, with hotels and restaurants no longer buying for fear of contamination from an oil spill in the region. (AP Photo/Raphael Muller) The Associated Press

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