Agia Zoni oil spill was an accident waiting to happen, experts say

The environmental disaster caused by an oil spill that reached the shores of Athens this week was an accident waiting to happen, according to maritime experts. 

The Agia Zoni II tanker sunk in the Saronic Gulf near the island of Salamina on Sunday and experts have slammed relevant authorities tasked with supervision of the ship's seaworthiness.

The 45-year-old tanker, they say, should not have been allowed to conduct high-risk operations such as bunkering as it was too old, and had not undergone proper inspections by relevant maritime experts. 

The Agia Zoni II went down in mild weather while at anchor with a cargo of 2,500 tons of fuel that leaked and spread to the coasts of Salamina and southern Athens, covering dozens of kilometers of coastline in foul-smelling gunk. 

Regardless of the causes of the sinking, the ship should not have been at sea, experts...