KIMO Norway Calls for Better Protection for Norway’s Fragile Coastline

Kommunenes Internasjonale Miljøorganisasjon (KIMO) has called for better protection of the Norwegian coastline after 585 tons of bunker oil and 72 tons of diesel spilled from the Cypriot-registered cargo ship M/S Server grounded Friday evening just north of Bergen.

In a statement issued today KIMO International President Councillor Angus Nicolson stated, “KIMO remains convinced that the transport oil presents one of the major threats to the Norwegian coastline. This incident fully illustrates our longstanding position that all ships can pose a significant risk to coastal communities and that bunker oil is one of the most polluting oil cargoes, which is carried by all ships. It was fortunate that this was not a 200,000 tonne ship transporting oil from northern Russia or from the Baltic. We can only hope that this will act as an early warning to the Norwegian Government who must now revise its oil contingency plans to ensure that coastal communities are given the best protection possible. This must mean expanding the provision for Emergency Towing Tugs (ETV) to assist in preventing such incidents in the future.”