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40 years on, Brittany tanker wreck is magnet for divers
RENNES, France, Oct 9, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Forty years after it sank, the
remains of a super tanker wrecked off northwestern France have become a
favourite spot for divers when the weather allows.
On March 16, 1978, the Amoco Cadiz tanker ran aground off the Brittany
coast, causing one of the world’s worst oil pollution disasters.
The 227,000-ton tanker broke up on the reefs off the small fishing port of
Portsall, covering miles of coastline in oil.
Its hull, broken into three separate rusted parts and now covered in
seaweed, is slowly sinking into the seabed.
Thousands of soldiers and volunteers spent three months cleaning up 360
kilometres (220 miles) of coastline and trying to save hundreds of oil-coated
sea birds.
Local mayors and regional authorities spent 14 years tied up in court
before winning compensation from the US company that operated the ship.
BSS/AFP/IJ/1436 hrs