Activists from Greenpeace in Croatia, Hungary, and Slovenia expressed their discontent this morning in front of the headquarters of Ina regarding the negligence and delay in removing the sunken platform Ivana D from the bottom of the Adriatic Sea. On this occasion, a six-meter sculpture titled Artistic Reef was displayed in front of Ina, serving as a reminder to the fossil company that it has been three years since the major accident and that hundreds of tons of its steel still lie on the seabed.
To remind, in a decision from September 2021, the State Inspectorate of the Republic of Croatia (DIRH) ordered the removal of the sunken structure within a year, and a similar opinion was held by several relevant state bodies, including the Office of the Ombudsman. Despite this, the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development continues to tolerate the current situation, allowing Ina to gain time and, consequently, a good opportunity for further savings worth millions of euros.
– By delaying the final decision on the fate of Ivana D, the Ministry is not only protecting the company’s interests at the expense of the climate and environment but is also opening the door for similar actions regarding other platforms. Considering the remaining 19 offshore gas platforms and, according to announcements, another nine planned, this could set a dangerous precedent that could easily turn the Adriatic into a graveyard of Ina’s gas platforms – says Petra Andrić, campaign leader for Greenpeace in Croatia.
So far, official procedures regarding the sinking of the platform have been published ‘drop by drop’. After the accident, a Commission for the Investigation of Major Accidents was established, but it is not known who the members of that Commission are or what decisions have been made so far. The relevant Ministry does not regularly and transparently inform the public about this case. Greenpeace has requested the Ministry to publish all studies, decisions, and resolutions; however, we have neither received a response nor are the materials publicly available.
Prof. Dr. Axel Luttenberger, a professor of maritime law at the Faculty of Maritime Studies in Rijeka, joined Greenpeace at the press conference and commented on the legal aspect of the case:
– Neither international, European, nor Croatian laws approve the use of the seabed as a dumping ground for industrial waste. In this case, the operator responsible for the damage, i.e., Ina, is obliged to bear the costs of ecological damage due to the breakage of the foundational structure of the offshore facility. Based on the Barcelona Convention, which regulates protection against pollution due to exploration and exploitation of the epicontinental belt, the seabed, and the marine subsoil, sanctions are prescribed for violations of obligations or for non-compliance with national laws or regulations. In this case, the operator of the offshore facility did not care for the facility, leading to not partial but total damage from the breakage and sinking of the foundational structure. The state’s response to the damaging event indicates a delay as no environmental impact study of the breakage and sinking of the offshore facility has been prepared. The state is obliged to require the operator responsible for the damage to take remediation measures; otherwise, significant financial resources are provided to Ina in the form of illegal state aid – emphasized Dr. Luttenberger.
