Just before summer well and truly sets in, Greece’s beaches along the Saronic Gulf have been officially declared pollution free by Greek authorities, following a significant oil spill that gripped the area in September 2017.
The spill, caused by Greek-owned tanker Agia Zoni II, which went on to sink off Salamis island, impacted the shores of southern and western Attica across dozens of kilometres.
While authorities attempted to clean-up the mess, swimming was banned, as was fishing, for weeks.
“There is no problem with the Saronic Gulf in regards to pollution levels from oil. People can swim where they swam before the tanker Agia Zoni II sank,” Senior Researcher at the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (HCMR), Ioannis Hatzianestis confirmed.
He said that they started tests right after the incident on 18 September, with their work completed by the end of March this year with positive results.
“We examined the sea water, sediments, and the general ecological quality of the Saronic Gulf, along with the marine organisms. In regards to the sea water, which is of interest to most people who want to go swimming, the levels of hydrocarbons were normal as of December,” Hatzianestis revealed.
The worst affected areas were the shores from Salamina to Glyfada in southern Attica, but as of December 2017 no significant pollution was found, nor were remains of petroleum hydrocarbon.
“We believe that the pollution was limited to the shores and this is why there were no findings at the sea bed. To tell you the truth, we were also surprised, but we did not trace pollution findings at the sea bottom,” said Director of HCMR’s Oceanographic Institute, Vassilis Lykoussis.
As a consequence for the spill, the shipping company responsible for Agia Zoni II has been fined €1.2 million, said Greek Shipping and Maritime Minister Panagiotis Kouroumblis.