At 3:30 a.m. on Monday, the EIDER, a Hong Kong oil tanker, crashed into rocks 500 meters off the coast of Antofogasta in northern Chile. The tanker spilled an unconfirmed amount of heavy crude oil in a radius of approximately 2 km around the ship.
Further south near the coastal town of Corral a fishing ship spilled approximately 300 liters of crude oil contaminating a colony of 350 black-necked swans. The swans are at the center of a battle between Chilean environmentalists and Celulosa Arauco y Constitución (Celco), owned by one of the country’s most influential financial groups.
Local officials dispatched the Chilean navy and medical personnel to Antofagasta to help clean up the spill. More than 20 people have been treated for oil exposure-related illnesses. Biologists expect a large number of marine invertebrates, sea fowl, and plant life will be killed by the spill before officials will be able to clean up the area.
“The mortality rates are very high in the sector,” said Carlos Guerra, a biologist from the Universidad de Antofogasta. “We have already seen a large number of invertebrates affected by the spill.”
Jorge Molina, governor of Chile’s northern Region 2, is asking Chile’s government to press charges against the owners of the vessel. The captain and owners of the vessel are expected to face fines depending on the size of the spill as well as any further legal claims brought against the company for related damages.
At the scene of the southern oil spill near Corral, medical veterinarian Daniel Boroschek explained the affect the oil spill had on the endangered black-necked swans. According to Boroschek, swans that came into contact with the oil suffer lung damage from breathing in oil fumes. This type of injury is incurable.
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