Several beaches of Var polluted by hydrocarbons after the collision off Cap Corse

After the collision between two ships last October 7th off Cap Corse, twenty-six beaches of the Var are now affected by oil pollution equivalent to a spill. The collision resulted, as reported, a leak of nearly 600 cubic meters of fuel oil on one of the ships and it is this oil that ten days later is currently found on the beaches of the east Var the form of viscous pellets.

The cleaning of the concerned beaches began yesterday, Thursday, October 18, on the beach of Pampelonne, in the Gulf of Saint Tropez.

The mayor of Ramatuelle was the first to file a complaint for pollution and coastal degradation. After him, other affected town halls lodged a complaint so that the cleaning operations could be billed to the polluter.

The Var prefecture has triggered the Polmar plan that allows, under the impetus of the prefect and with the implementation of the State and public partners, to mobilize staff and equipment to mobilize as quickly as possible the perfectly adapted equipment and the staff trained in depollution techniques.

Since Friday, nearly 150 people have set to work to clean up the beaches of the first affected municipalities (Sainte-Maxime, Saint-Tropez and Ramatuelle).

In a press release on Friday evening Jean-Luc Videlaine, prefect of Var, reaffirms that the cleanup of the coastline will last as long as necessary and that "The commitment of 150 people (30 municipal staff, 40 forestry foresters of the departmental council of the Var, 17 volunteers of the departmental badociation of communal committees forest fires and reserves of civil security of the Var, 20 firefighters of the Var, 36 soldiers of the civil security of the Ministry of the interior) this day allowed the depollution of 8 beaches: La Croisette (Sainte Maxime), Port Grimaud South, Port Grimaud North, Saint-Pons-the-Walls (Grimaud) and the 4 dirty beaches of Gbadin. "

According to the Ministry of the Ecological Transition, only 2% of oil dumped at sea would have reached the coast. Pollution remains a concern for local flora and fauna