Military Officials Under Investigation For Part In Erika Spill
Three military officials working at the Brest maritime office in western France have been put under investigation over alleged failure to react to the sinking of the tanker Erika, judicial sources said. The officials were on duty at between December 11-12, when the Maltese-registered Erika broke up and sank. Admiral Yves Naquet-Radiguet, the maritime prefect for France's Atlantic coast, was not informed of the situation until the morning of December 12, when the tanker had already split in two. The magistrate in charge of the case, Dominique de Talance, has been investigating any shortcoming by maritime authorities between Erika's first distress call early in the afternoon of December 11 and the December 12 shipwreck.
Acid Ship Sinks Of Bay of Biscay
A Maltese-registered tanker carrying 8,000 tons of potentially explosive sulphuric acid sank in the Bay of Biscay on Tuesday, French maritime authorities said. The 23 crew were picked up by ships and were safe, they said. A spokesman for France's Atlantic Surveillance and Rescue Center said there was a slight risk that the sulphuric acid would explode on contact with water. "The motor tanker Balu is reported sunk in international waters this morning about 130 miles (209 km) north of (the Spanish port of) La Coruna... while facing severe weather conditions," read a statement from Traschimar. French maritime authorities said earlier that it was not clear why the 5,795-ton tanker had sunk, and described weather conditions as "normal" for the time of year.
