Oil Leaking from Grounded Bulk Carrier in Mexico

Los Llanitos aground in Punta Graham, Jalisco, Mexico. Photo: PROFEPA

Oil has been spotted in the water surrounding the grounded bulk carrier Los Llanitos in Punta Graham, Mexico, the country’s environmental agency PROFEPA said Thursday. 

Officials were in the area recently for a routine inspection of the ship when the sheen of oil was discovered in the waters surrounding the vessel. 

The Los Llanitos ran aground along the rock coastline of Jalisco, Mexico on October 23, 2015 during Hurricane Patricia and began to break up. Damage to the vessel was so bad that officials determined that it was too risky to try to remove the ship from the coast, rather it would need to broken up on-site. 

The operation to remove all oil and other pollutants from the ship was supposed to completed in May 2016. 

PROFEPA said no oil has been observed on the beaches and coastline near the ship, but there is an ongoing concern that ship could break up even further as more storms hit the area. 

The agency has ordered the responsible party to contain the oil that was most recently observed. 

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