Oil spill probe fails to find source

IT IS “unlikely” that the cause of an oil spillage off the North Yorkshire coast will be found, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency said last night.

The pollution incident affected at least a dozen sea birds but tests to establish the exact nature of the spill, which affected Yorkshire’s coastline between Filey and Scarborough, have failed to reveal who was responsible.

Jo Rawlings, of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, said: “The oil has been identified as common fuel oil and that’s actually used by many ships around the world so therefore its highly unlikely that any new information will come to light. Unless any new information comes forward, for us the investigation is now closed.”

A clean-up operation had to be mounted to remove the oil off beaches.