Two popular Portuguese beaches have been closed after an “oil spill”, authorities have said, with swimmers banned from entering the water.
An outbreak of pollution had been identified on Saturday at Cabanas Velhas beach in the Algarve, though it wasn’t clear what had caused it, the National Maritime Authority (AMN) said in a statement.
On Sunday, the beaches of Cabanas Velhas and Boca do Rio, in Vila do Bispo, were closed, Portugese daily newspaper CM Jornal reports.
In a statement published on the Vila do Bispo Council’s website and translated from Portugese, the local authority said “the beaches of Cabanas Velhas and Boca do Rio are closed to bathing due to an oil spill impacting the bathing water of these beaches”.
The decision was reportedly taken after Ana Cristina Guerreiro, the Regional Health Delegate of Algarve opted to decree “the prohibition of bathing activities on the beaches until safety conditions are restored”, as per the outlet.
After making the discovery on Saturday, Maritime Police subsequently contacted the Southern Maritime Department and the Directorate for Combating Pollution at Sea, activating the 3rd level of readiness of the Clean Sea Plan, emergency measures that have to be taken to combat pollution in the maritime domain.
Level three is activated by the local maritime authority (capitão do porto) for spills where impact is limited to the area of its jurisdiction, according to the International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation Limited (IOTPF) website.
Other spills may come under more major measures (levels one and two), if the impacts are more serious and wide-ranging.
AMN’s note said the tide and lack of visibility meant that it was only possible to collect the polluting material on Sunday morning, as per the outlet.
Authorities also patrolled adjacent beaches and discovered, “the presence of polluting material at Boca do Rio Beach”, though in smaller quantities.
All the collected and contaminated material was transferred to the appropriate treatment unit through Vila do Bispo Municipal Council, the note said.
Express.co.uk has reached out to the council via email for more information.
The Algarve has long been a popular holiday spot for British sunseekers and was recently been named the fifth best-value destination in the world for 2024 by Post Office Travel Money.
The firm’s Worldwide Holiday Costs Barometer, also found that it was the cheapest in Europe. The report assesses the price of staple items in each destination and found that a cup of filter coffee costs just 88p in the southern Portuguese region, with a bottle of local beer comes at £2.20 and a glass of wine priced at £1.76, as per The Metro.
