The coast guard has taken samples of fuel from at least 24 ships that have sailed across the Saronic Gulf in recent days as part of its efforts to track down the vessel that caused large oil slicks to appear on Saturday at two beaches in southern Athens, officials said yesterday.
The samples have been sent to the state laboratory for tests. Officials hope they will then be able to match the samples with the substance that was collected at the beaches in Vouliagmeni and Varkiza.
Coast guard sources said they believe that the oil slicks, which were 20-30 meters wide, were caused by a leak from a large vessel as fuel was moved from one tank into another.