The keys to the microplastic dumping affair that threatens the coasts of northern Spain

On December 8, the cargo Toconao -registered under IMO number 9627899- lost six containers, one of which contained bags with plastic balls . These were lost off the coast of Portugal, about 80 kilometers west of Viana do Castelo, on the border with Spain. Thus, the pellets reached the coasts of Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria and Basque Country from where the incident was reported to the Spanish and Portuguese authorities as well as the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA).

One of the six containers transported 1,000 bags of pellets of 25 kilos each small white spheres used to make plastic products, according to the Galician government representative, Alphonse Rueda . Greenpeace and other environmental organizations have estimated that millions of pellets could have been lost, adding that the pellets found represent a danger to marine and human life as they can break down into microplastics which can be eaten by fish later caught by fishermen.

The governments of Galicia – the most affected autonomous community – and Asturias have requested aid to the central government of Madrid . The Spanish government assured that it learned of the arrival of the pellets on the coast of Galicia on December 13 after receiving a call from maritime rescue, while Portugal assured that it was only aware of these events and that the incident was linked to the loss. of the cargo ship Toconao through the media.

This Monday, Spanish prosecutors opened a investigation verify the extent of this release, its origin and determine whether it may give rise to criminal liability. And this Tuesday an environmental emergency was declared in Galicia, a measure for which you can request help from the Spanish State. The arrival of pellets affects Galicia a month before the next elections regional elections, scheduled for February 18.

The president of the Xunta in Galicia and candidate for re-election, Alphonse Rueda admitted on Monday that he was “of course” concerned about the repercussion of the arrival of pellets on the Galician coasts during the elections. The politician from the Popular Party of Galicia explained that the Xunta “will collect everything that arrives on the beaches”, while deploring that the opposition parties “campaign shamelessly” on this issue.

However, the situation does not seem favorable to Rueda, as he is criticized for not having taken the necessary measures to solve the problem of coastal pollution. This is because sources in the government of Pedro Sánchez indicated that on Tuesday evening, The Xunta de Galicia had not yet contacted the state media clean the beaches, even if the president of the Xunta had announced at noon that the emergency level 2 .

At emergency level 2, they are it is the autonomous governments of Spain which are leading the operation , coordinate interventions and request resources. It is for this reason that the Spanish government has asked the Xunta to clarify what it needs to be able to send these troops with the corresponding equipment and to act immediately.

Plastic pellets measure around five millimeters and are used as a raw material in plastic industry . This makes it possible to manufacture a wide range of products, such as containers, packaging or electronic devices. the increase of white tide on the Galician coast – as it is called in reference to the oil spill caused by the Prestige oil tanker in 2002 – worries the environmental community, because the pellets are not biodegradable, they affect the soil and water and, ultimately account, ecosystems… and biological diversity.

On the banks of Galicia and Asturias have been done beach cleaning to eliminate microplastics, coordinated by environmental organizations and local authorities through manual collection and the use of specialized technologies to filter and extract smaller particles from sediment and water. Environmental associations, volunteers and staff from the municipalities concerned have been collecting pellets for days, with many volunteers collect sand from the beaches to extract impurities, a very complicated task due to its small size.

Meanwhile, the Origins of the merchant ship Toconao remains uncertain, since it sails along the coasts of Europe and the Mediterranean Sea under the flag of Liberia, its owner is Polar 3 LTD – a company established in the tax haven of the Bermuda Islands – which, in turn, is a subsidiary of a large company based in Cyprus and owned by a German shipowner.

All of this history makes it difficult to hold someone responsible for harmful contamination of the ecosystem and determine compensation for environmental damage. Toconao, under the flag of Liberia, joins the list of “flags of convenience” used by shipowners to avoid rigorous inspections and reduce costs.

Maersk, the shipping company responsible for transporting the containers, told The Associated Press in an email that the containers were lost at sea on Dec. 8. during the voyage from the Spanish port of Algeciras to Rotterdam, Holland. He added that the Toconao is a chartered ship and is not part of the Danish company’s fleet, and that it operates between Northern Europe and the Mediterranean.

The communities of Asturias and Cantabria They are also at emergency level 2 due to pollution, having taken action immediately after finding the first microplastics on their shores, while Galicia took three weeks. Last October, the European Commission proposed a series of measures to avoid mishandling and loss of pellets which must be debated by the 27 members of the European Union and the European Parliament, and would come into force 18 months after the conclusion of an agreement.

In addition to the pellet container, the Toconao ship also lost five more containers which, according to the government delegation in Galicia, was transporting “tomato paste, tires, aluminum bars and rolls of plastic film”. Even though the loss of containers occurred in Portuguese waters, to date It has not been announced that the pellets have arrived in Portugal . On the other hand, they reached coasts of France according to what was announced by the second vice-president of the Xunta and Minister of Environment, Territory and Housing, Ángeles Vázquez.