Oil slick or no oil slick? Authorities disagree on murky waters
ERA claimed that it can be classified as a slick, while Transport Malta said no slick was identified
A possible oil slick was spotted in St Julian’s Bay on Tuesday, with authorities offering conflicting accounts on whether it was, in fact, a slick.
On Tuesday morning, Times of Malta received a series of photos and videos appearing to show an oil slick opposite the Cavalieri Hotel in St Julian’s.
The alleged slick appeared to stretch from within Spinola Bay to the San Ġiljan Aquatic Sports Club, where it tapered off into the open sea.
A resident living on the St Julian’s seafront reported noticing both the slick and a strong odour from the ninth floor of his residence.
“The stink of fuel is insane. If I can smell it all the way up here, let alone what it is like on the ground floor,“ they said.
The Environment & Resources Authority (ERA) told Times of Malta it had “confirmed it can be classified as a slick”. When asked for further clarification, ERA added: “The sheen apparent from the pictures indicates that the spill consists of a hydrocarbon”.
Hydrocarbons are chemical compounds made up of hydrogen and carbon, such as those found in oil or petrol. Fuels like this can pose environmental risks when released into the sea.
ERA said its officers had investigated the report on site.
“The odours reported earlier were not detected during the site visit, and no fuel storage was found in nearby establishments.”
The authority nevertheless alerted Transport Malta, which is responsible for coordinating responses and interventions regarding oil spills.
By Wednesday, however, the matter became much murkier with no visible traces of the oil slick being identified during follow-up inspections by Transport Malta.
The agency told Times of Malta: “Transport Malta conducted an immediate investigation in the area. Upon inspection by TM officials, no visible traces of the oil slick could be identified".
“Given the absence of visible pollution at the time of inspection, no intervention or clean-up operations were deemed necessary.”
By Thursday, the possible slick had disappeared, and so did the odour.