U.S. Officials Dispute Argentine Claim on Antarctic Oil Slick

The Argentine navy said Friday nearly all the fuel drums thrown into the Antarctic Ocean by a shipwreck have been recovered and no more oil slicks are visible, but American officials disputed that assessment.

The excursion vessel Bahia Paraiso, piloted by an Argentine navy crew, hit a rock and partially sank on Jan. 28 after leaving the U.S. National Science Foundation’s Palmer research station.

The 350 people on board, many of them tourists, were evacuated, but penguins, gulls and shrimp-like krill were endangered by the estimated 180,000 gallons of oil that leaked from the ship’s fuel tanks.

“Ninety-five percent of the drums of gas-oil (diesel fuel) that the ship had on its deck has been recovered,” an Argentine navy statement said. “Yesterday, oil slicks on the surface were not visible.”

But Winifred Reuning, a spokeswoman for the National Science Foundation’s polar programs, said, “There is still fuel in the water that can be seen. It’s not all cleaned up. However, there are no significant leaks from the ship any more--that’s plugged up.”