The fear of oil spills and a potential environmental disaster is palpable in the Danish coastal town of Skagen. But the country is not sufficiently well equipped to handle a major clean-up job, says defense analyst Jens Wenzel Kristoffersen to Danmarks Radio.
– The bigger the ship, the greater the threat of something happening. And we must be prepared for it. And that is probably where we see the lack of preparedness.
It is vessels suspected of belonging to the Russian shadow fleet that primarily worry experts and residents. The ships are not registered in Russia – allowing Putin to circumvent Western attempts to choke off the country’s oil export revenues.
The Shadow Fleet’s ships are often old and lack insurance. Last December, one of the shadow fleet’s ships sank in the Black Sea. Now the people of Skagen are afraid that a similar accident could happen outside their coast.
– It scares me a lot, the thought that an oil spill could surface here on our fantastic beaches. If the wind and current are in the wrong or the right direction, we can destroy huge areas up here, says Vibeke Petersen to DR.
See the ships and hear the worried Skagen residents, in the player above.