Around 10,000 liters of diesel have spilled into the sea after a feed raft ran aground between Høgefjellet nature reserve and equally picturesque Hoddevika on Stadlandet. The Norwegian Coastal Administration has since ordered the owner to remove the wreck, but that is easier said than done. The concrete colossus weighs 2,100 tonnes, and one of the methods being considered is to let the swell play havoc with the construction until it is broken up into more manageable parts. – This option is perhaps the most likely, explains the Coastal Administration to Bergens Tidende. In Fjordenes Tidende, the same agency is quoted as saying that there is unlikely to be a clean-up this side of the winter. – I think it’s strange that there is no more sense of urgency, says parliamentary representative and former Stad mayor Alfred Bjørlo (V). – Such an “environmental bomb” must be disposed of as soon as possible. In the company of several nature conservation organizations (see below), he reacts to several conditions: The use of time. Today, the raft is stuck on the rock, and has no buoyancy of its own should it come loose. The missing “emergency understanding”. The “round dance” between the municipality, the state, the owner and the Coastal Administration about who will take responsibility. One argument for removing the construction immediately and in its entirety is that the broken piece will be “lost” if left to the forces of nature, or that the construction sank. Photo: Jon Frogner Photo: Jon Frogner Photo: Jon Frogner The owner: – It is in everyone’s interest to clean it up – The sea is still being treated like an open pile of rubbish for a long time, says Bjørlo. – The time has come to tighten the regulations when it comes to clean-up at sea – without long study circles about who is responsible. After back-and-forth, it was clarified this week that it is Stad municipality – and not the Coastal Agency – that will see to it that the owner of the wrecked feed fleet cleans up after itself. On Monday, a new meeting is nevertheless planned to which the State Administrator in Vestland has also been invited, since the accident site is located in the Høgfjellet nature reserve, where the state is responsible for management. The owner of the wreck is the farming company Måsøval. – It is in everyone’s interest to clean it up, says public relations in the company, Berit Flåmo. She says they must take into account the fact that the wreck lies on “one of the most dangerous stretches of sea in the world” and that the time of year makes the working conditions even more difficult. – In any case, we are committed to the dialogue with the authorities about what measures should be put in place, she adds. News player Kenneth Bruvik, chairman of Framtidshavet This colossus must go, and now! It only creates an even bigger problem if it dissolves. Furthermore, this is about precedent and trust in the authorities. It will be watered down if this does not have consequences. Get it away! Richard Aune Truls Gulowsen, Naturvernforbundet If the owner of the feed fleet cannot clean up after himself or through insurance, they should never carry out the transport. We expect the municipality to ensure that the company removes the wreck without delay, and that the company pays all costs. news Frode Pleym, Greenpeace The professional authorities must assess which clean-up is practically possible. But it is important that the owner says that they will, of course, charge all costs for clean-up, and that he will start immediately if the professional authorities think it is best for the environment. For people who live in Stadlandet and everyone else who loves nature here, it is completely irrelevant what the dialogue with the company’s insurance leads to. Oddmund Reisæter Haugen Alfred Bjørlo, VenstreI have no basis to say anything about which method is the best – but the case is a very good example that we are far behind in Norway when it comes to taking care of nature at sea. We are still treating the sea as an “open garbage dump” – where we can release sewage, dump mining waste, start mining at sea, or leave wreckage to release thousands of liters of fuel. Morten Andersen Berit Flåmo, Måsøval It is in everyone’s interest to clean up! Now we know that the fleet is in one of the most dangerous stretches of sea in the world, in addition to the fact that the time of year makes it a dangerous area to work in. In any case: we are committed to the dialogue with the authorities about what measures should be initiated. Naturviterne Morten Wedege, NaturviterneIn principle, the Naturviterne believe that polluters have a duty to clean up after themselves as far as possible without risking life and health for the clean-up crew. In our view, the fact that an operation is demanding or expensive is not an excuse for neglecting to clean it up. Kystrederiene Kenneth Erdal, Kystrederiene Here the owners of the fleet must adhere to the Coastal Administration’s handling of the case and find good solutions in consultation with the insurance company. Marthe Synnøve Johannessen Dag Inge Aarhus, Maritime Directorate We do not have much to add to this case. The responsible authority is the Coastal Administration, and we have not been involved in the assessments they have made related to the follow-up and choice of method for removing the structure. – They must take the entire bill for the job Frode Pleym in Greenpeace is calling for an announcement in which Måsøval “loudly and clearly says that they are requesting all costs for clean-up”. – We expect that the decision will be made based on what is best for the environment, not the costs for the farming company. Måsøval is responsible for cleaning up, and they must foot the entire bill for the job. Lasse Lund is deputy leader of the Fjordane Outdoor Recreation Council. – We are against things being left out in nature, but there will always be an assessment of whether a clean-up operation can be carried out in a safe and secure manner without material and crew being damaged, he says. He adds: – In the worst case, we risk another accident during the rescue operation, and that the situation will only get worse. The wreck of the old towboat “Lomax” lay for several years in the middle of the approach to Bergen. The Russian trawler “Petrozavodsk” ran aground at Bjørnøya in 2009. It remained there because it was too dangerous to undertake wreck recovery. But large resources were used to remove the most polluting components. The wreck of the trawler “Northguider” which ran aground in 2018 at Nordaustlandet on Svalbard was removed in several smaller pieces in a demanding operation. Published 05.09.2024, at 15.25
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Large concrete colossus at Høgefjellet nature reserve in Stadlandet causes problems – news Vestland
