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Fear of ecological threat by grounded vessel

After the 'Deala' ran aground on April 16, 2024, at 7.30 p.m. with 15 Egyptian crew members on board, near the port of Raša in southeastern Istria, the African owner has renounced ownership of the wreck, and since then it has been disintegrating approximately 40 meters from the shore and at a water depth between two and five meters. Local residents and biologists fear an environmental catastrophe in the Natura 2000 protected area. The ship was to be salvaged within 30 days, according to the responsible Ministry for Maritime Affairs, Transport and Infrastructure, but the owner has abandoned his ship, and the cost of salvaging it, which were estimated at three million euros, will probably be charged to the Croatian taxpayer. Divers discovered in April that the engine room had been flooded three meters high by a leak. On Feb 5, 2025, local politicians turned to the public, after a new damage has occurred on the ship. The residents of the municipalities of Raša, Marčana and Barban, which share the Raška Bay, have been waiting for a response from the relevant authorities, i.e. the ministry, for ten months, stated the president of the Association of Municipalities Dalibor Paus during a press conference in Krnica, supported by Neven Iveša, a biologist at the Faculty of Natural Sciences in Pula, who emphasized that the Raša Bay is protected as a Natura 2000 area. Some measures have been taken to remove waste water and fuel, but due to the deterioration of the ship, other dangerous substances may be released into the environment, warned the biologist, who is critical of alleged plans by the ministry to tow the ship to Turkey because Croatia is technically unable to salvage ships of this size. He suggested the wreck should be dismantled on site with the involvement of local companies. Report with photos: https://www.kleinezeitung.at/kaernten/alpeadria/19330023/vor-zehn-monaten-gestrandet-schiffswrack-vor-istrien-wird-zur