site.btaNo Pollution Registered around Stranded Ship "Vera Su" - Maritime Administration

Varna, on the Black Sea, October 16 (BTA) - There is no pollution around the stranded ship "Vera Su" and the slick noticed on Friday has dispersed, Valentin Enchev, Director of the Maritime Administration Executive Agency, told reporters on Saturday. He said it was normal to see a slick in such bad weather when the whole ship is being swept by the waves.
Enchev was reacting to reports of a slick about which the Environment and Water Ministry had been alerted. Samples taken by its monitoring team showed a surface opalescence. A strong smell of petroleum products had been reported from the area. At 0.147 mg/litre, the ammonia nitrogen level was three times as high as previously registered on the shore.
Enchev said the only way to monitor the ship was from the shore as the weather had been very bad from Friday evening. Once the weather conditions improve, the action plan will be revised.
The Black Sea Basin Directorate of Varna keeps denying the Maritime Administration access to the samples, saying that there are no legal grounds to grant it, Enchev also said.
The 32-year-old Panamanian-flagged bulk carrier "Vera Su", owned by a Turkish company, veered off course and ran aground on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast on the night of September 20. The ship was carrying 3,000 tonnes of urea, a fraction of which was offloaded. All the fuel and lubricants were removed. The 9-strong crew was evacuated on October 6 at the shipmaster's request. DD