The Federal Police concluded the investigation into the oil spill that polluted beaches in 11 states in 2019 and named the company, the commander and the chief engineer of a Greek-flagged ship named responsible for dumping the material on the Brazilian coast.
The first patches reached the beaches of the Northeast at the end of August 2019 and by March of the following year they spread over more than 2,000 km in length. Ibama estimates that 5,000 tons of waste have been collected in 1,009 locations in 11 states.
In its final report, the PF calculates a minimum damage of R$ 188 million for the federal government and also prepares a report on the total amount that will consider other factors such as damage to fishing communities and tourism.
According to the PF, the investigation gathered evidence that the Greek-flagged NM Bouboulina was responsible for the spill and that Delta Tankers, Commander Konstantinos Panagiotakopoulos and Chief Engineer Pavlo Slyvka failed to notify authorities of the launch. of the material in the ocean.
The owner of Delta, responsible for the ship, and the two crew members were indicted for crimes provided for in environmental law, including causing direct or indirect damage to conservation units and causing pollution that results in damage to health.
Suspicion about the Bouboulina vessel emerged in 2019 after investigators received a report from the company Hex Tecnologias Geospatiais with images of a slick with oil characteristics on July 29 of that year, a few days before the material began to appear on the beaches.
The crossing of satellite images indicated that the ship had transited the suspicious location.
While analyzing the material, the PF also received the content of an administrative investigation carried out by the Navy that pointed in the same direction.
Based on its own independent investigative methodology and based on computer modeling and simulations, the Navy also indicated Bouboulina as the main suspect.
Another document, from the Merchant Marine Captains Center, analyzed the circumstances of the spill and ruled out the possibility of an accident. The signs, according to the study, point to a possible deliberate deposit or cleaning of the tanks.
The Navy also informed the PF that in April 2019, the vessel was detained by the United States Coast Guard due to “incorrect operational procedures in the system for separating water and oil discharged into the sea (sic)”.
To try to clarify the circumstances of the possible problem faced by the ship and which resulted in the spill, the PF called on Interpol to listen to the crew and gather information with countries such as Greece, Singapore and South Africa.
Investigators discovered that shortly after the supposed date of the spill, the ship stopped in South Africa and changed part of the crew, an action considered atypical.
“Including three officers were exchanged, which is Sui generis, since this was a stop that was not planned and, generally, the crews continue with the cargo from the shipment to the final destination where it will be unloaded”, says the PF in the final report of the case.
In addition, after entering the sights of the Brazilian authorities, the ship began to avoid providing clarification and declared false destinations in the system that centralizes information on international maritime traffic.
The PF classifies the action as a sign that the owner company did not want to collaborate with the investigations.
The investigation also analyzed oil samples collected at various points along the coast and concluded that they were oil coming from wells in Venezuela.
The Bouboulina, also cites the PF, had undocked from the Venezuelan port José Terminal Sea Island in late July 2019, days before the appearance of the spots.
“For all of the above, it seems obvious to us that there is strong evidence that the NM Bouboulina, owned by the Greek company Delta Tankers, was the ship involved in the oil spill that generated an unprecedented marine pollution in the history of Brazil”, says the PF .
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