An untold amount of black, toxic oil is contained within the corroding wrecks of World War II ships scattered around the Pacific. And it's leaking into the ocean.
In waters across the Pacific, an untold amount of black, toxic oil is contained within the corroding wrecks of World War II ships. And it’s leaking into the ocean.
"We can't see into all of the holds on this ship … being an oil tanker, yes there is definitely going to be oil in it," he says.We're in Iron Bottom Sound – a stretch of water in Solomon Islands off the coast of the capital Honiara.
"We're in an exponential stage of erosion, and I think it's only going to get worse now, unfortunately," says Aron Arngrimsson, an underwater cinematographer who is travelling across the Pacific recording extremely high-resolution images of the World War II wrecks.Some of that oil has leaked out over the years, but there are fears a lot more remains."The total quantity of oil, I'd only hazard a guess, but yeah, we're talking tens of thousands of tonnes.
On his laptop, Dr Carter opens a video of a huge, thick patch of oil trapped on the roof of a wreck in Chuuk Lagoon. The NGO hopes that once the most "potentially polluting wrecks" are identified, action could be taken to prevent a major spill. Dr Carter says it's not clear who has the legal or moral responsibility to ensure these wrecks don't turn into environmental disasters.
Scuba Diving Oil Spills Reefs Guadalcanal Iron Bottom Sound Honiara
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