Syrian oil spill spreads across Mediterranean, threatens Cyprus

An oil spill that originated from a power plant on Syria’s Mediterranean
coast now threatens the Cyprus islands, according to Cyprus authorities. Last
week, Syrian state media said there has been a spill from the plant inside the
Baniyas oil refinery. Satellite imagery, cited by the BBC, show that the oil slick
spread along the Syrian coast before moving westwards towards Cyprus.

Experts expect the oil slick to reach the Karpas peninsula in the Turkish-controlled
north Tuesday. The prime minister of Turkish-controlled Northern Cyprus said
all measures were being taken to prevent the slick from causing damage and has
been receiving assistance from Turkey. The Cypriot government said it was ready
to provide help if sought.

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Nearly a week ago, the Syrian government announced that there has been an
accidental leak from a fuel tank at the Baniyas thermal power plant, which is
in a part of the war-ravaged country under its control.

The very next day, Syrian state media said that the slick has spread to the
town of Jableh, located 20 kilometers to the north. Teams have been deployed to
clean up oil from rocky areas of the coast, applying sand to soak up the fuel
as well as use suction machines, the Syrian government has said. 

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The Cypriot government issued a warning on Monday after satellite imagery
showed that the slick had grown in size and was inching close to Cape Apostolos
Andreas. Cape Apostolos Andreas is located in the north-easternmost part of the
Karpas Peninsula which is part of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
(TRNC).

TRNC Prime Minister Ersan Saner said that the spill’s progress was being
closely monitored and all relevant ministries are working in cooperation with
Turkey. “No-one should doubt that whatever is necessary will be done to prevent
our country from being harmed by this spill,” Prime Minister Saner said.