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Sue Surkes
Sue Surkes
Sue Surkes is The Times of Israel's environment reporter.
A sign that reads, "Danger, polluted sea" is placed on Haifa beach, northern Israel, next to bags full of tar collected by volunteers following an oil spill in the Mediterranean Sea, February 28, 2021. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
March 1, 2021, 7:03 pm
Israel eliminates 12 of 35 vessels suspected in oil spill
Environment minister says disaster is a case of ‘malice’ on part of ship owner with ‘no compassion,’ demands government reconsider plan to increase crude shipments via Israel
By Sue Surkes
Pieces of tar that washed up onto the beach at the Gador Nature Reserve in northern Israel on March 1, 2021. (Yossi Aharoni)
March 1, 2021, 2:15 pm
11 days after start of coastal disaster, Environment Ministry calls for help
As more tar washes up on beaches, ministry seeks companies that can map contamination, establish cleanup priorities, offer ways to help to get hard-to-remove tar off rocks
By Sue Surkes
Satellite image from February 13, 2021, of a 26.4 kilometer(16.4 mile) long oil spill about 10 km (six miles) from Hadera in northern Israel.
February 28, 2021, 7:53 pm
Satellite images of oil slicks off coast show recent spill far from a one-off
Greenpeace says spillages are ‘a stain on the government’ for consistently ignoring calls to monitor and prepare for toxic pollution
By Sue Surkes
Removing tar from an unspecified beach, February 28, 2021. (Elad Yaakov, Government Presss Office)
February 28, 2021, 7:31 pm
As more tar sweeps beaches, nature authority says sand will never be 100% clean
Environmental advocacy body Adam Teva V’Din calls on Environment Ministry to update public ‘in real time’ and ‘with maximum transparency’
By Sue Surkes
The Greek oil tanker Minerva Helen. (Environmental Protection Ministry)
February 28, 2021, 1:24 pm
Greek tanker cleared of suspicion for oil spill that polluted Israel’s beaches
Environmental Protection Ministry team checks Minerva Helen in Piraeus port, eliminates it from list of dozens of tankers under investigation for massive tar contamination
By Sue Surkes
Tar on the rocks at Achziv beach, February 25, 2021. (Sue Surkes/Times of Israel)
February 27, 2021, 12:37 pm
After a week of clean-up efforts, tar still ‘everywhere’ on Israel’s beaches
From large patches clinging to algae to tiny droplets in the sand, the dark, sticky material is defying painstaking efforts to decontaminate almost the entire coastline
By Sue Surkes
A ladybug rests on tar-covered rocks and shells after an oil spill in the Mediterranean Sea, at Tel-Dor Nature Reserve in Nahsholim, Israel; Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2021. A disastrous oil spill has blackened most of the country's shoreline and reached beaches of neighboring Lebanon. The cleanup is expected to take months. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
February 23, 2021, 8:45 pm
Government allocates NIS 45 million to clean up tar-polluted beaches
Funds bugeted to deal with contamination caused by offshore oil spill that has shuttered most of Israel’s Mediterranean coast; Haifa court drops media gag order on spill probe
By Sue Surkes
The Minerva Helen crude oil tanker, seen at the oil terminal of Dunkirk, France. (Remi Jouan, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons)
February 23, 2021, 1:22 pm
Greek tanker suspected in oil spill that polluted Israeli beaches
Kan news says that the Minerva Helen, said to be involved in major oil spill near Copenhagen in 2008, is under investigation; shipping company denies involvement in both incidents
By Sue Surkes
Photographs of tar contamination along Israel's northern beaches, taken from a helicopter by Israel Nature and Parks Authority Director, Shaul Goldstein, on February 22, 2021.
February 22, 2021, 10:27 pm
Long battle ahead to rid beaches of tar, senior official says after flyover
Shaul Goldstein, director of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, says sand looking better on many northern beaches, but rocks still highly contaminated after oil spill offshore
By Sue Surkes
Police officers receive instructions at Nitzanim beach in southern Israel before joining volunteers to help clean up tar from an oil spill, February 22, 2021 (Menachem Fried/Israel Nature and Parks Authority)
February 22, 2021, 1:00 pm
In surprise move, court slaps 7-day gag order on probe into oil spill disaster
Media barred from publishing details of investigation; some local councils halt cleanup, citing lack of money from Treasury; Environment Ministry due to submit proposal for funds
By Sue Surkes
Calves on a live shipment from Australia to Eilat for fattening, prior to slaughter, December 2019. (Israel Against Live Shipments)
February 22, 2021, 12:00 pm
Environment minister joins other lawmakers in pitching for animal lovers’ votes
At conference organized by animal welfare groups, MKs from seven parties and a candidate for an eighth call for an end to live shipments of cattle, caging of poultry
By Sue Surkes
People clean tar from an oil spill in the Mediterranean sea in Gador nature reserve near Hadera, Israel, Feb. 20, 2021. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
February 22, 2021, 6:39 am
Tarred and shuttered: Anatomy of the oil disaster that closed Israel’s beaches
Experts call the spill Israel’s worst beach contamination in memory, and they fear much marine life has been wiped out. Nobody can say how long recovery will take
By Sue Surkes
Tar washed up onto Tel Shikmona beach in northern Israel, February 21, 2020. (Tomer Ofri, Israel Nature and Parks Authority)
February 21, 2021, 4:26 pm
After oil spill, Environment Ministry to pursue funding pledged 12 years ago
Implementation of 2008 government decision to create plan for national response to spills was stymied at the time by Treasury
By Sue Surkes
People clean tar from an oil spill in the Mediterranean sea in Gador nature reserve near Hadera, Israel, on Saturday, Feb. 20, 2021. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
February 21, 2021, 3:47 pm
Israelis told to stay away from beaches due to health fears over oil spill
Authorities urge keeping distance from entire Mediterranean coast from Rosh Hanikra to Zikim due to worry over tar exposure, a day after people fell ill helping cleanup efforts
By Sue Surkes
Vets carrying out a post-mortem on February 21, 2021 on the corpse of the young fin whale washed up onto Nitzanim beach in southern Israel on February 18, 2021. (Assaf Kaplan, Israel Nature and Parks Authority)
February 21, 2021, 2:09 pm
Vets find ‘suspicious’ black liquid in lungs of whale found dead after oil spill
Parks authority chief vet says not yet clear that liquid was cause of animal’s death or linked to spill; authorities urge staying away from coast from Rosh Hanikra to Zikim
By Sue Surkes
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