Greenpeace Bulgaria has created an interactive map of oil pollution in the Black Sea, covering a total area of 820 square kilometers. The map was developed using satellite data. A total of 170 oil slicks were recorded over the course of one year. The most striking case is a large slick just a few kilometers off Cape Kaliakra, said Martin Tomov, coordinator of the "Living Black Sea" campaign at Greenpeace Bulgaria. 

According to the environmental activist, the actual number of oil slicks in the Black Sea is likely much higher, as the map excludes any spots that could not be definitively identified as oil-based. Martin Tomov pointed out that the problem is global, with bilge water being discharged in all oceans and seas. "In the Mediterranean, the amounts may be even higher", Martin Tomov commented in an interview with BNR.

• Over 170 oil spills detected in the Bulgarian Black Sea waters

Published and translated by Kostadin Atanasov

Photo: greenpeace.org