advertisement

Brazil says oil traces from spill reached marine park

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) - Brazil says small amounts of oil from a spill along the northeast coast have reached a national marine park.

Naval and environmental officials said Saturday that oil traces were removed from Santa Barbara Island in the Abrolhos park in the state of Bahia.

Santa Barbara is among five islands in the Abrolhos park, which contains one of Brazil's largest coral reefs. There were no reports that oil had reached the reef.

Oil has washed ashore on some 2,100 kilometers (1,300 miles) of Brazil's coastline for two months, hurting tourism and fishing.

Brazil says the oil is Venezuelan and came from a Greek-flagged ship belonging to Delta Tankers Ltd.

The company denies the allegation, saying it has found no evidence of leakage on the vessel.

The headquarters of Delta Tankers Ltd is surrounded by a security fence in Athens, Greece, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2019. After two months of oil mysteriously washing ashore on some 1,300 miles of Brazil's coastline, authorities believe that NM Bouboulina vessel, a Greek-flagged ship belonging to Delta Tankers Ltd. is a suspect, as it was navigating through Brazilian waters at the time and location of the spill. (AP Photo/Yorgos Karahalis) The Associated Press
People walk past a directory indicating the floor where the office of the Lachmann maritime agency is located, at a building in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Friday, Nov. 1, 2019. Authorities in Rio de Janeiro coordinated a search Friday at the Lachmann maritime agency, linked to a Greek-flagged ship suspected of spilling large quantities of oil along the country's northeast coast. (AP Photo/Leo Correa) The Associated Press
Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.