Phosphoric acid could leak from the sunken Turkish-owned tanker mv Ece and disrupt the eco-system around the south-west of the UK, according to the National Oceanography Centre.

The Southampton-based organisation is using a water-quality monitoring device called a "ferry box" on the Pride of Bilbao ferry, which runs from Portsmouth to Bilbao in northern Spain and passes within a mile of the exclusion zone around the wreck.

The NOC is worried that the massive input of fertiliser into the marine eco-system at the start of spring could upset the balance and create damaging algal blooms. But with oceanographers unsure what will happen, a study has been funded by the Government.

"This study will assess the eco-system's response to a massive input of fertiliser," said oceanographer Dr Boris Kelly-Gerreyn. "At springtime, plant growth in the sea takes off in the same way it does on land - resulting in algal blooms.

"With these levels of phosphoric acid, we could see a 400% increase in growth rates. Some phytoplankton are toxic, which brings problems for fishing and shellfish industries. Large amounts of plankton sinking through the water column can deplete oxygen levels in the water column, leading to the death of other organisms, which could put the whole food web out of kilter."

With so many nutrients in the water, the algae, which blooms as the northern seas warm, could multiply unchecked and suck oxygen from the water, or cause shellfish to become poisonous. However, it may also result in a bumper year for plankton-feeders such as basking sharks and jellyfish.

The Ece was carrying some 10,000 tonnes of phosphoric acid when it collided with a bulk-carrier while off Guernsey in January. Attempts were made to tow her to port, but she sank in 70m of water near the collision site.

Environmentalists were initially concerned about leaking fuel oil before the potential danger from the phosphoric acid was revealed.


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