Oil slick approaches Tallinn

TALLINN, March 20 (Itar-Tass) - An oil slick in the Gulf of Finland has approached the Estonian capital.

Estonian nature protection services and border guards believe the source of the contamination is the Runner 4 dry cargo ship of the Dominican Republic that had sunk in the Estonian territorial waters on the night of March 6 after colliding with the Svyatoi Apostol Andrei merchant ship.

A slick of petroleum products one kilometre in size has been spotted in the area of the shipwreck in the area of the Vaindloo Island in the Gulf of Finland.

According to specialists, a 100-kilometre stretch of the Estonian coast is facing the danger of contamination.

Clean-up operations in the Gulf of Finland are impeded by bad weather and ice. As the fuel oil slick is approaching the coast the clean-up vessels face another obstacle - shallow waters.