Gash in hull of sunken oil tanker raises questions

Nearly three months after the fuel tanker Agia Zoni II sank off the island of Salamina, prompting an oil spill that polluted much of the Athens riviera, a shipping expert and a prosecutor who examined the vessel determined the presence of a large gash in its hull, Kathimerini has learned. 

Experts involved in an inspection of the vessel, which was lifted out of the sea and towed to Salamina last week, told Kathimerini that the Agia Zoni appeared to have been in good condition and that some dents to the hull could have occurred during its removal from the seabed.

They did not rule out the possibility that the ship sustained the damage by striking rocks while it was sinking. 

However a video broadcast by Skai TV last night indicates that, apart from the dents, the hull had sustained a large gash, some 1.5 meters in length.

The owner of the Agia Zoni, Thodoris...