«PETER» CASUALTY LIBREVILLE, GABON. MISSION OF ENVIRONMENTAL EMERGENCY JULY 31st AUGUST 8th 2000 Libreville, GABON EUROPEAN COMMISSION / D.G.ENV.C.3.

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1 «PETER» CASUALTY LIBREVILLE, GABON MISSION OF ENVIRONMENTAL EMERGENCY JULY 31st AUGUST 8th 2000 Libreville, GABON EUROPEAN COMMISSION / D.G.ENV.C.3.

2 1. CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS On June 8 th, 2000, the cargo vessel «Peter» (Greek owner, flag : Malta, 6,940 gt, built 1975 in Japan), loaded with 7,800 m 3 of timber, bound for Portugal, was involved in a collision with the «Adeline, DELMAS» containership off Owendo, Gabon. No serious damage was sustained by the two ships and the «Peter» followed her route. At the mouth of the «estuaire du Gabon», the «Peter» began to list and finally to sink on June 9 th, early in the morning and ran aground on a sandy bank at 8 nautical miles from the Cape Santa Clara (North of Libreville). The sea depth is 9 meters ; the superstructures are emerged. The location of the wreck is : N E (Themis bank). 2. POLLUTION OBSERVED 2.1. Pollution observed at sea : A leak of light oil has been reported soon after the grounding by boats and planes, heading either to the North-East or to the West ; in June and early July, the size of the slick was around one hundred of meters long and 2 or 3 meters wide. The survey made by the Community Expert on August 3 rd, by boat, a slick made of light oil (no patch of heavy fuel oil observed) extending on the aft part starboard (10 meters wide near the wreck) and elongated towards the North East. On August 4 th, by helicopter, the extension was appreciated with more accuracy : the slick forms an arc of circle towards the South - South East on the fore part portside ; the slick is divided into stripes parallel to the wind ; some slicks (5 to 10 m in diameter) can be seen at the extremity of the arc of circle. Its length is approximately 2 kilometres, its width about 10 meters. It appears to be iridescent sheens with some patches more brownish. As it was not possible to go down with the helicopter to have a closer observation, it is difficult to say if it is only made of gas-oil or if there are some patches of heavy fuel oil, but it is sure that the greatest part of the slick is made of light oil. 2.2 Pollution observed on the shoreline : Several observations have reported small tar balls on the beaches of Libreville and the south of the estuaire du Gabon (Pointe Denis), and also in Equatorial Guinea during June and July. It is difficult to say if they come from the «Peter» or from illegal discharge from other vessels because no sample has been taken for analysis. No more arrivals of oil have been reported since the end of July. 3. BUNKERS AND CARGO The estimation of the bunkers remaining onboard by the officers of the M/V Peter when she ran aground, was around 290 tons of heavy fuel oil (specific gravity : 0.95 to 0.97), 40 tons of gas-oil and, approximately, 300 litres of lubricating oil. The cargo stored on the deck has been lost ; several timbers have drift to the North of Cape Santa Clara. The quantity remaining in the wreck is estimated to one third to half part of the total (between 3000 and 4000 m 3 ). Some timbers have a very high density (S.G. : 1.3 to 1.6).

3 4. SURVEY OF THE WRECK A salvage tug «Leopard» from TSAVLIRIS (Greek) came on scene on June 19 th, made a diving survey and began to suture the hole (60 cm long and 7cm wide). They did not finish the work because the insurance does not want to pay for the work. 5. CONCLUSION The slick seems to turn around the wreck with the tides, either drifting to the coast or to the open sea but being more and more elongated. As the sea state does not permit to maintain containment booms nor oil-skimmers, it is impossible to stop the extension of the pollution. The only solution to stop the leaking would be to pump the bunkers (normally technically feasible ; one of the major problem could be the access to the outlet of the tanks which can be situated under the cargo), operation to be made by a specialized society (underwater work). Several international specialized societies (working in Gabon) have been contacted (see annex 2). Their advise is important because of the location of the wreck at the entry of the estuary, constituting in this location a hazard to navigation (no signalised at night), not far from the major channel and who could slide on the side of the sandy bank into the channel pushed by the waves and the wind, inducing a major hazard to the navigation. INFORMATION TO THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE MEMBER-STATES OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY AND PRESS RELEASE A meeting for the attention of the Member-States of the European Community has been organised on Monday 07/08, in the offices of the Delegation of the European Community in Libreville. A press conference has also been organised on Tuesday 08/08 for the newspapers and the national television.

4 ANNEXE 1 : LOCATION OF THE WRECK OF THE M/V PETER

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6 ANNEXE 2 : UNDERWATER WORKS SOCIETIES The following specialized societies have been contacted : - STOLT COMEX SEAWAY Mr Jacky Houlmont Tel. : Fax : SMIT INTERNATIONAL Mr Xavier De Meulder Mr Richard Janssen Tel. : Fax : PESCHAULT GABON Mr Peschault Mr Pomian Tel. : Fax : An assessment of the cost of the expertise is first needed. The location of the wreck in an area submitted to the waves and the condition of the hull which is unknown as well as the accessibility to the bunkers are the major problems for which a first survey of an expert assisted by divers is necessary in order to assess the cost of the pumping and the removal of the wreck.

7 ANNEX 3 : MEETING WITH NATIONAL AUTHORITIES The Prime Minister The Minister of Agriculture in charge of the interim of the Minister of Transports and Merchant Marine Mr the General Secretary of the Ministry Mr the Deputy General Director of the Direction of the Merchant Marine The Minister of the Waters and Forests, Fishing, and Reafforestation, in charge of the Environment and the Protection of the Nature The French Ambassador The General Director of the Environment The Director of the National Antipollution Center The Legal Adviser of the Ministry of the Foreign Affairs The Minister of Transports and Merchant Marine Mr the General Director of the Merchant Marine Mr the Deputy General Director of the Merchant Marine The Directors of the different departments of the Direction of the Merchant Marine.

8 ANNEX 4 : PROGRAM OF THE MISSION August 1rst : After a briefing at the Delegation of the European Community in Libreville with Mr Carlo DE FILIPPI, Ambassador, Chief of the Delegation, the following personnalities have been encountered : The Minister of Agriculture in charge of the interim of the Minister of Transports and Merchant Marine Mr the General Secretary of the Ministry Mr the Deputy General Director of the Direction of the Merchant Marine The Minister of the Waters and Forests, Fishing and Reafforastation, in charge of the Environment and the Protection of the Nature The French Ambassador The General Director of the Environment The Director of the National Antipollution Center August 2nd : Meeting at the Direction of the Merchant Marine under the direction of the Deputy Director with the participation of the Directors of the different Departments of the Direction of the Merchant Marine. Meeting with the officers of the «M/V Peter» August 3rd : Visit on site by boat Arrival on site at mid-tide (flood) With Mr Silva, European Delegation in Libreville and Mr the Deputy General Director of the Direction of the Merchant Marine August 4th : Visit on site by helicoper of the Gabonese Army Arrival on site at ebb-tide With Mr Sordet, European Delegation in Libreville, Mr the Deputy General Director of the Direction of the Merchant Marine and Mr the Director of the National Antipollution Center. August 5th : Contact with the underwater works specialized societies. August 6th : Visits on site along the shoreline North of Libreville and on the southern bank of the mouth of the river Gabon (Pointe Denis). August 7th : Presentation of the results of the expertise to the representatives of the Member-States of the European Community.

9 August 8th : The Minister of Transports and Merchant Marine Mr the General Director of the Merchant Marine Mr the Deputy Director of the Merchant Marine The Prime Minister The Minister of the Waters and Forests, Fishing and Reafforestation, in charge of the Environment and the Protection of the Nature The Director of the National Antipollution Center The Legal Adviser of the Ministry of the Foreign Affairs Press conference for the Gabonese newspapers and television.