Citation: Cross, T.F., Southgate, T. & Myers, A.A. 1979 The initial pollution of shores in Bantry Bay, Ireland by oil from the tanker Betelgeuse. Marine Pollution Bulletin 10: 104-107
Number of Pages: 4
Keywords: Cork, Littoral, Marine, Mollusca, Monitoring, Pollution
Abstract: This paper describes the pollution of shores during the 6 days after the wrecking of the Betelgeuse Oil tanker which was unloading at the offshore jetty of Gulf Oil Terminals (Ireland) Ltd. off the north shore of Whiddy Island in Bantry Bay, southwest Ireland. At the time of the disaster it was estimated that 40 000 tons of oil remained in the tanker. Approximately 2000 tons of this escaped in the first week, of which possibly 500 tons reached the shores. Initial biological effects on shore organisms appeared slight, but long term effects, especially due to dispersants being washed ashore were not yet investigated.