The Fisheries Department on Thursday said Cyprus’ coast is clean and unaffected by a recent oil spill in Israeli waters which left much of the neighbouring country’s shoreline covered with black sticky tar.
“Up until today, no oil spill whatsoever has been detected in sea waters of Cyprus,” the Department also said in a written statement.
Israel is undergoing a mass clean-up of its beaches after the February 17 oil spill from an unidentified vessel which led to one of the worst ecological disasters in the country’s history.
After Israeli authorities informed Cypriot ones of the disaster, the Agriculture Ministry’s Fisheries Department joined forces with the Deputy Ministry of Shipping in closely monitoring the island’s coastal area.
Their task is assisted by satellite pictures taken by the European Maritime Safety Agency which monitors possible oil spills.
Satellite images show that the source of the spill was about 30 miles from Israel’s shore, in waters somewhere between the southern coastal cities of Ashkelon and Ashdod.
