The container that appeared floating in the sea off Puerto del Carmen last Thursday was probably thrown overboard from a ship. According to Emerlan, who was in charge of recovering it from the water after receiving the alert that there was an object adrift, that container posed a "danger" to other boats. They also point out that it is relatively common for different waste to appear on the island's coasts, presumably from ships. This type of discharge is considered a minor infraction by the Coasts Law.
From Emerlan they point out that they have found everything from planks and drums to even refrigerators. With one of those appliances, members of this rescue NGO were found just two weeks ago on Los Pocillos beach. As with the container, Emerlan personnel were in charge of removing it. Regarding the discovery last week, this entity points out that everything indicates that the container was traveling on a ship and at some point transported diesel. Possibly, when it was emptied, the sailors decided to get rid of it and throw it overboard, they point out.
Emerlan was alerted that there was an object adrift approximately one mile from the coast of Puerto del Carmen. By the time they located it, it had been driven by the current and was already half a mile from the coast. In this sense, they explain that the container adrift "was dangerous, since if you are in a boat and you come across an object like that you can have an accident or a breakdown".
According to them, the appearance of this type of waste is not something strange in Lanzarote and "sometimes relatively large objects are extracted", although they usually appear on land instead of being located still in the sea. Thus, from Emerlan they point out that they find different types of "garbage" that comes from the water to the Lanzarote beaches. "We are not sure where they may come from, but they end up on our coasts," they lament about this waste.
A practice that, when it occurs at sea, is more difficult to avoid
From Emerlan they emphasize the difficulty of finding out the origin of this type of waste. They explain that if these practices are carried out "on the high seas" it is difficult to avoid and control them, although they point out that in recent years the surveillance of the Civil Guard helicopter has been intensified. This, they explain, has had a deterrent effect on more polluting practices, such as the cleaning of their tanks that "years ago" some oil tankers carried out.
For its part, the Benemérita points out that it is "atypical" for its agents to carry out interventions in this regard and that they have not had recent actions in this regard. They do emphasize, however, that these practices are not covered by the law, which considers them infractions. On the one hand, the State Ports and Merchant Marine Law states that "all discharges from land to the sea will require authorization from the competent Administration, without prejudice to the authorization or concession of occupation of public domain that, where appropriate, will be granted by the Port Authority".
On the other hand, the Coasts Law states that "the execution of works, discharges, crops, plantations or logging in the maritime-terrestrial public domain without the proper administrative title", whether by action or omission, are considered "minor infractions" and establishes different sanctions in this regard.