The Icelandic coastguard has now completed their work of stopping an oil spill from El Grillo in Seyðisfjörður. A fence will then be set up this summer, but the fence is intended to catch oil that could leak out as weather begins to warm.
It was the crew of the patrol ship Freyja together with the divers of the Coast Guard who worked on the project at the end of last month. The leak that came from two openings on the tanks of the oil tanker El Grillo, which sank during the Second World War in Seyðisfjörður, had to be stopped. According to the Coast Guard’s website, the tanks were boarded with concrete, but it is stated that these were not the same openings as were filled about two years ago.
It took a considerable amount of time to clean the tanks, where some debris and sediment had accumulated, but this was necessary before concrete was poured into the openings. It also proved difficult for the divers that the openings were partially under the ship’s superstructure. But the concrete held, and it was possible to complete the project successfully.
The website states that a small amount of oil, on the other hand, is stuck under a footbridge that runs over the ship’s tank. A slight leakage is expected as it warms up. A special fence has been designed and built for Múlaþing, for the purpose of capturing such oil. The Coast Guard will assist in installing the fence this summer.
The great photos above were taken by Guðmundur St. Valdimarsson, a boatman on board Freyja.
This article was originally published in Icelandic by Björgvin Gunnarsson.
Athugasemdir