Greek-flagged Ship “Bouboulina” Is Culprit behind Oil Spills, Say Federal Police

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Federal Police (PF) report is included in the decision of federal judge Francisco Eduardo Guimarães Farias, of the 14th Federal Court in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte.

The judge issued search and seizure warrants against Lachmann Agência Marítima, a shipping agent for Delta Tankers in Brazil, and Witt O’Brien’s, another company in the shipping trade. Both companies’ offices are located in downtown Rio de Janeiro.

The Bouboulina hqe previously been arrested in the United States for four days, according to a document sent by the Navy to the Federal Police. The arrest occurred due to “incorrect operational procedures in the water separation and oil discharge system at sea”.

Two search warrants were carried out in Rio on Friday at the headquarters of representatives and contacts of the Greek company in charge of the ship. According to the PF, the ship charged with spilling oil on the Brazilian coast is now anchored in a port in Nigeria.

Based on reports provided by the Navy, it was established that Delta Tankers had a shipping agent in Brazil, the Lachmann Maritime Agency, and that the Greek ship Bouboulina had a “competent party” in Rio, Witt O Brien’s.

This company operates in the risk management business and advises shipping companies on contingency plans and procedures to be adopted in the event of accidents, according to the PF.

The contractor was involved in “the famous DeepWater Horizon platform oil spill case”, as stated in the court order. The platform exploded in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, killing 11 workers and spilling millions of barrels of oil into the ocean.

According to the investigators, the Bouboulina ship docked in Venezuela on July 15th and the spill occurred 700 km off the Brazilian coast between July 28th and 29th.

The investigations were carried out in cooperation with the Navy, the Federal Prosecutor’s Office, IBAMA, the Federal University of Bahia (UFBA), the University of Brasilia (UnB) and the State University of Ceará (UEC). A private company in the geo-intelligence field also provided support.

The vessel

Built in 2006 and named after Laskarina Bouboulina, a heroine of the Greek War of Independence, the “Suez Max” tanker is 276m long, 50 meters wide, and can load up to 164,000 tons (including cargo, passengers, water, fuel, supplies, etc.).

Its home port is the city of Piraeus, near Athens. Websites specializing in naval routes show that it would have docked in Cape Town, South Africa, coming from the north, before heading to Malaysia, its destination.

Source: O Globo