The last hatchlings from a nearby nest have made it almost to the sea. As a Toulipa Goulimyi volunteer observes their efforts, a large crude oil tanker looms in the background. The presence of large commercial ships in Vatika Bay threatens the fragile marine ecosystem. Two studies by the Hellenic Center for Marine Reserach, done in 2010 and 2015, clearly showed the destruction of great swaths of the EU-protected species of sea grass Posidonia oceanica caused by the anchors of these large commercial ships. Posidonia oceanica is called the “lungs of the ocean” because of the large quantities of oxygen it emits into the sea through the process of photosynthesis. Posidonia oceanica provides a habitat for hundreds of species of fish and other sea creatures. The destruction of the Posidonia oceanica in Vatika Bay was the subject of a Petition to the EU filed by local concerned citizens in 2016. The EU Commission answered in 2017, saying that the Greek authorities had assured the Commission that is was preparing a Special Port Regulation that would protect the Posidonia oceanica in Vatika Bay. As of September 2020, no Special Port Regulation limiting the number of ships that anchor in Vatika Bay, and confining them to anchoring in a small, well-defined area of the Bay, has been enacted. Large crude oil tankers, such as the one in this photo, continue to tear up Posidonia oceanica in Vatika Bay with their anchors, in clear contravention of EU regulations.