Tag: oil spill prevention

As the USCG informs, a crude oil discharge occurred in the Jamie Whitten Lock at mile marker 412 on the Tennessee Tombigbee Waterway, Sunday, September 8. For the time being, the cause of the incident remains unknown and is under investigation.

In cooperation with the Joint Arctic Command (JACO), EMSA plans and orders satellite imagery to meet service coverage requirements. After image acquisition trained operators analyze the images with supporting information, like vessel position data, to identify possible pollutions. After assessing the images, the operators also determine the possibility of the presence of oil on the sea surface, and to help in identifying the source of the pollution.

One of the key elements in a successful oil spill contingency planning is to define the communication channels to be used by cooperating parties when facing an incident. A workshop in Pulau Indah, Klang, Malaysia, from 19-21 August, brought together officials from states in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), to help bring into operation the Regional Oil Spill Contingency Plan, which was adopted in 2018.

The US Office of Marine Environmental Response Policy and the National Strike Force Coordination Center published new guidelines for the Oil Spill Removal Organization classification program. The major revision in the 2019 guidelines focuses on realigning the classification program with applicable regulation provisions.

IMO conducted a workshop in Cambodia, the latest country to update its oil spill contingency plan, by acknowledging the country's specific risks and gaps, so that they're able to rapidly and effectively respond to potential oil spill incidents.

EMSA published an infographic presenting the SafeMed project during 2018. In general, the SafeMed Project on maritime safety and prevention of pollution from ships is a European Union (EU) funded regional project run by the Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Response Centre for the Mediterranean Sea (REMPEC) on behalf of the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

The Chilean Navy confirmed the spillage of 40,000 litres of diesel into the sea in a remote and 'pure' area of the South American country’s Patagonia and added that they are working to eliminate the fatal effects. The Chilean Navy embarked a pollution response and control team that will use specialized elements to mitigate the effects of oil spilled into the sea.

The South African Maritime Safety Authority informed than an investigation is underway to establish the cause of the oil spillage incident during a bunkering service off the port of Ngqhura near Port Elizabeth on July 6 morning. It was reported that up to 200-400 litters of fuel well spilled into the ocean.

MPA Singapore published a circular reminding to all ships supplying and receiving bunkers in the Port of Singapore that bunkering related oil spills generally take place because of operational lapses and could be avoided if all necessary precautions are taken.

Humanitarian Affairs Chief Mark Lowcock alerted the UN Security Council that an aging oil tanker moored outside Yemen's Hodeidah port was at risk of exploding. The moored tanker was close to Yemen’s recently demilitarized Hodeidah port. During his speech, he highlighted that 'The spill could reach from Bab el Mandeb to the Suez Canal, and potentially as far as the Strait of Hormuz.'