Greek-flagged Bouboulina ship is suspect of oil spill on northeastern beaches

Greek-flagged ship Bouboulina might be responsible for the oil spill on the beaches of the Northeast, prosecutors said in a statement sent to the Federal Court, that based the search and operation carried out on Friday on two companies linked to the vessel.

In court, the prosecutors narrate all the work that led to the suspicion surrounding the vessel.

“In this regard, it is crystal clear that there is strong evidence that NM BOUBOULINA, from DELTA TANKERS LTD., was the ship involved in the oil spill that generated a marine pollution unprecedented in Brazilian history,” the prosecutors said.

“There are also strong indications that the company DELTA TANKERS, the NM BOUBOULINA commander, and crew have failed to communicate to the appropriate authorities about the leakage/release of ‘crude oil’ into the Atlantic Ocean that has polluted hundreds of Brazilian beaches.”

At the request of the Federal Public Ministry, the Federal Court authorized searches and seizures at Lachmann Maritime Agency and Witt O Brien’s, both based in Rio de Janeiro, which would have links with the suspected oil tanker.

Federal Police Delegate Agostinho Cascardo, one of those responsible for Operation Mácula, under which the search and seizure warrants were fulfilled, said that the two companies based in Rio de Janeiro are not in the suspicion of the oil leakage, but would have links with the Greek-flagged ship.

“The two companies are addresses that are linked to the company, they are representatives, consulting companies, they are not in principle suspects of crime. These are people who may have files and data that are useful for the Federal Police investigation,” the delegate told a news conference.

The delegate said he had sent five requests for international cooperation to five different countries via Interpol to investigate the ship who allegedly caused the oil spill in Brazilian waters. He pointed out that this is one of the lines of the investigation.

Cascardo said that, based on research data, the oil may have been discarded between July 28 and July 29, 730 kilometers off the coast of Paraíba. He said that it is not possible to know the reason for the disposal of the material, since, although the materiality of the crime is well defined, the circumstance of the crime is unknown.

The delegate stated that the ship can carry 80,000 tons of oil, not one of the largest for this type of use. “What has arrived on the Brazilian coast is a small fraction,” he said.

Source: Reuters

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