The tragedy of the super tanker "Haven", which sank in '91 off Arenzano (GE). 144.000 tonnellate di greggio in mare e ancora, dopo 19 anni, i pescatori devono dividere il petrolio dal pescato, nonostante le bonifiche certificassero un mare pulito.
Assolti gli armatori: il fatto non sussiste.
La Milford Haven è una “superpetroliera” cipriota di proprietà della multinazionale Amoco.
E’ enorme, lunga 344 metri, larga 51 con pescaggio di 20 metri e un’altezza di 26.
Varata nel 1973 è ceduta nel 1988 all’armatore cipriota Loucas Iannou.
Lo stesso anno, colpita da un missile da una nave iraniana nel Golfo Persico, rimane in riparazione a Singapore fino al 1990.
A questo punto è pronta per il suo ultimo viaggio, meta: Genova.
Le ore passano e si arriva a mezzogiorno, sulla nave è in corso un travaso del carico dalla prua verso il centro della stiva. Una mezzora and here is the disaster, are 12.30, very strong explosion, possibly caused by the malfunction of a pump, ripping the ship, leaping 100 meters in the forward deck.
In flames produced by the explosion killed five crew members including Commander: Petros Grigovakakis, while the remaining 31 people can save themselves. Oil leaked from the tanks of the vessel is poured into the sea and, remaining on the surface, continues to burn, creating an inferno of fire, smoke, flames that destroyed the ship, disfigured.
The day after the fire continua, si tenta di trainare il relitto spostandolo tra Cogoleto e Arenzano dove la prua cede, staccandosi dal resto della nave.
La parte staccata, lunga 95 metri, si adagia a 480 m di profondità, mentre la restante continua a galleggiare divorata dall’incendio.
Dal mare sale una colonna di fumo nera, gigantesca, alta fino a 300 m; la nave è quasi celata dietro questa cappa densa, mortale.
Passa un altro giorno, nulla si placa, anzi, altre esplosioni scuotono la nave in agonia, aumentando il fumo e la paura della popolazione costiera.
Le esplosioni proseguono tutta la notte, gli abitanti sulla costa dicono che “i vetri tremavano ad ogni botto, tintinnando impazziti”, un inferno.
L’apice lo si tocca alle 9.30 con un’altra esplosione, finale, risolutiva.
Sono le 10.30 del 14 aprile, la Haven affonda ad un miglio dal porto di Arenzano, il fuoco si placa, rimane un’unica grande chiazza di petrolio in superficie, che inizia pian piano a guadagnare le rive. Nei giorni seguenti, nonostante l’intervento della Marina militare e di mezzi del porto di Genova in missione anti-inquinamento si verificano molti spiaggiamenti di greggio, soprattutto tra Arenzano Albissola and Marina.
The ship had a capacity of load of 283,626 cubic meters and, when it sank, carrying 144,000 tonnes of crude oil.
It is estimated that burned about 90,000 tonnes, while fifty were scattered over an area of \u200b\u200b200 square km.
The Haven as it was "related" with three other ships, his sister:
- The Amoco Cadiz, sunk 16 March 1978 in front of the coast of Brittany, spilling 230,000 tons of crude oil in sea.
- The Maria Alejandra, exploded on 11 March 1980 off the coast of Mauritania.
- Mycene And finally, April 3, 1980 exploded off the coast of Sierra Leone.
In short, the events speak for themselves, and reasonable doubts arise, "why" for example, "Haven has lasted so long?".
His counterparts are all sunk before the end of 1980, while she lasted ten years longer.
Apart the irony, this is not common fate may have been dictated by the case, there must be a culprit or at least someone who's had everything, even in part, responsible, someone who had to respond.
The world loses every year a huge amount of hydrocarbons, the estimates are an average of approximately 4 billion tonnes per year and only for the Mediterranean, where they calculate 600,000.
An oil disaster, and would be prejudicial to managing the oil, it is catastrophic for the environment.
Oil has harmful effects on animals and disrupts the habitat, leading them to extremes there looking for a way to adapt to new conditions.
In birds, for example, the oil penetrates the plumage reducing the capacity of thermal insulation, making them vulnerable to temperature changes, making it unfit for swimming and the feathers on the fly. The birds are thus stopped, dazed, trying to remove the crusts with spout swallowing tar, toxic to kidneys, liver and digestive system, and in conclusion the animals "afflicted" by oil almost always die before any kind rescue.
Passano le settimane e il relitto, a 80 metri di profondità, rimane solo, immobile, nessuno organizza sopralluoghi per operare future bonifiche.
Cinque mesi dopo l’affondamento Enzo Majorca, ex campione d’apnea, organizza, insieme a suoi conoscenti, una visita di esplorazione al relitto della Haven.
“Arrivammo sul luogo del “delitto”” racconta Enzo, “seguendo dalla costa una scia oleosa che il petrolio alimentava”.
Pian piano che ci avvicinavamo, continua, ci balzava agli occhi lo sterminio che il naufragio aveva prodotto, “la fauna marina era distrutta”.
Insomma “si capiva che ben poco era stato fatto” per migliorare la situazione.
“Intervenendo con tempismo” continua il Sig. Majorca “gran parte del greggio poteva venir trasferito in una nave cisterna in superficie”.
Osservando meglio il gruppo Majorca notò addirittura che dalla stiva fuoriusciva ancora greggio. Nulla era stato fatto per evitare di inquinare il mare, nulla.
“Tornando dalla nave verso la costa, quel giorno” conclude Enzo, “si potevano vedere i segni delle onde cariche di petrolio sugli scogli. Ondate di morte che lasciavano in the ghost of the disaster area. "
After the sinking of the Ministry of the Environment calculated at 2,000 billion lire, more than one billion euro, the environmental damage suffered.
The amount received by the company that owns the ship, however, was defined by mutual agreement, to 117 billion lire (60.4 million euro) were as follows: € 30 million were donated to the coastal communes as compensation , 16.5 million were allocated to the reclamation of the sea, while the remaining 13.9 was over, most likely in the "depths" of Protection Civil.
Because Italy was content to this small part of the real damage occurred?
The Gazette, after agreement, stated: "This transaction will ensure the state a total compensation for all damages of not less than 117.6 billion pounds, with a waiver of any other request."
Because the politicians or those who still had to manage the affair, did not get or had the intention to obtain a figure closer to the real harm?
Only 8 million will ultimately be used for effective remediation, the rest will be assigned by the government in 2005, the Civil Defence, having determined that the waters were clean.
also common to use most of the funds for work not per-remediation. It was rebuilt the boardwalk, Arenzano, place the sewers and areas on the former railway.
"It was decided to pretend nothing has happened, as if the problem did not exist," said Ezio Amato sorry, then scientific director of the Government for the reclamation of the Haven.
The machinery of justice begins to move.
Iannou Loucas, 65, and his son Stelios, 30 years old founder and owner of easyJet, are accused of multiple murder manslaughter, negligent fire and sinking of the Haven.
The owner and his son are so put on trial.
Environmentalists are almost hopeful, people live in the utopia that Italy sooner or later someone pay for a disaster like so many they have occurred in our country.
Instead it is all in vain, in 1997 comes the first sentence. The owners greek Cypriots, as announced by the Corriere della Sera on November 22, are acquitted of all charges against them.
The motivation is as follows: the fact does not exist.
It also begins to move something in the field of rehabilitation and, in 1998, finally come to the conclusion that something must be done, this time to impose it is the law.
Meanwhile, there is an appeal, which upheld the previous ruling led to the cancellation of the court of first instance: it goes to the Court of Appeals.
Court of Appeals that does not disappoint "expectations." In fact, the March 11, 2000 the second instance the case shall discharge the accused from all sins, the prosecutor had asked for seven years in prison for both.
Due anni dopo la sentenza diventa definitiva, la Cassazione respinge il ricorso della procura generale di Genova presentata dal sostituto procuratore generale Luigi Cavadini Lenuzza.
Si conclude in questo modo, nella più assoluta impunità, uno dei più gravi disastri ecologici causati da una petroliera nel Mar Mediterraneo.
Le associazioni ambientaliste insorgono invano. Legambiente con parole pesanti traccia un bilancio: “La vicenda della Haven dimostra che non esistono strumenti per la sicurezza del trasporto del greggio, non esistono regole ferree per il risanamento ambientale dei luoghi degradati da incidenti. La sentenza crea un rischioso precedente, ora sappiamo che anche se questi incidenti si verificano, nessuno pagherà.”
Questo “scandalo” giudiziario è seguito dai sempre più deludenti lavori di bonifica che, ricominciati nel 2003, si arenano rimanendo insignificanti parole al vento.
Il 23 aprile 2008, quasi a sorpresa, ci pensa Bertolaso, nei panni di Direttore della Protezione Civile, a ripartire con nuovi lavori di bonifica.
Si afferma che “nel relitto sono presenti ancora 102 tonnellate di greggio” e che “dati i rischi legati a possibili ulteriori fuoriuscite, si è reso necessario un definitivo lavoro di bonifica”.
The contract awarded by tender to the Dutch company Smit Salvage said it was proposing 45 days (100 maximum granted by the government) to clean the entire area from oil residues.
The cost is 5.2 million euro and the operation will be carried out between April and June of 2008.
Bertolaso \u200b\u200bis satisfied, adding that "the designation was troubled but in the end we chose the best company in the world."
So, in June, everything is clean and the cleaning becomes final.
Today the ship can be visited in diving, has become part of the backdrop and nobody, or almost, complained more to oil pollution.
Sebastiano Destri, a specialized diver, described his visit to the wreck enthusiastically, as a unique experience, a privilege.
"In the rooms you see lobsters trying to hide among the pieces of iron, our air bubbles remain trapped in the ceiling where they dance crazy looking for an escape and then, imposing defeats relitto, si riuniscono in piccole pozze, che addobbano i soffitti quasi fossero tremolanti specchi d’argento”sono queste le parole di Sebastiano dopo l’immersione.
Lui, insieme ad una guida, è sceso fino al tronco posato a 80 m di profondità, ha visitato qualche stanza per poi dirigersi verso la parte di poppa, dove si trova il fumaiolo.
“Dal castello ci dirigiamo verso il fumaiolo […] seguiamo la sagola e alla fine ci appare erto e imponente. Uno sguardo al suo interno, con la luce della torcia che si perde nel nero e con le scalette che sfumano nell’oblio. I due grandi fori sembrano quasi invitarti a scendere, per dare un’occhiata..”
you must be a positive experience to visit a wreck, but I think we should remember that if the disaster had not taken place, would have been better, would have largely paid off every emotion that "the old lady," as he calls Sebastian , has the power to inspire in its visitors.
This is because the problem today is not only the wreck itself, but also, and still pollution.
Although the authorities deny saying that the sea is clean, the bottom is still devastated by the oil that has become unfortunately raggrumatosi integral part of the marine environment of the area.
The vessel may be impressive, but we can not neglect the daily experiences of the fishermen who, after twenty years, fishing for fish instead of tar.
On the surface the sea is so-called "clean", the beaches have now lost the signs of the shipwreck, storm surges of black, the problem is below, where the eye does not see where the oil cleaned up said after the reclamation is still present, covers the seabed.
The fishing nets are every day full of tar, which is divided by the fish carefully in order to sell something.
"2 / 3 of our fish oil," said the cameras Report, "we must separate the fish, and waste oil" and is a long, tiring that the state does not recognize, does not "see" as the cause of the problem is theoretically solved. No politician has stated that the reclamation has been worse than a fiasco, in their opinion, you can usually catch fish clean, healthy.
Instead, unfortunately, the reality is another.
The seabed around the Haven were never recovered, the reclamation have not done anything and the guilty are not there.
It is' a disaster without undue "the Republic writes. No one has paid, no one has taken some responsibility and finally those who have recovered was only the sea, only a witness and victim of a massacre deleted from the law, justice.
This is another case of "mystery dumped" in our country now that is trendy and does not reflect.
Tobia Alberti
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Haven, immagini di un disastro:
