Tag: oil spill

  The City of Vancouver’s ocean-dependent industries are a crucial economic driver to the City and its “Greenest City” reputation. A new study concludes that both of these could be negatively impacted by an oil spill as a result of a nearly seven-fold increase in tanker traffic, from 5 to 34 per month, resulting from Kinder Morgan Canada’s pipeline expansion proposal. The report, titled “Potential economic impact of a tanker spill on ocean-dependent activities in Vancouver, British Columbia” concludes that a major oil spill (16 million litres) could negatively impact Vancouver’s marine dependent economy by $380 million-1.23 billion in output value. The report looks at the performance of Vancouver’s five key ocean-dependent activities that are closely linked to the condition of the marine environment: Commercial fishing Port activities (shipping and cruises) Inner harbour transportation Tourism (marine recreation, waterfront events, visiting beaches and seawall) Recreation The report analyzes a 16 million litre spill scenario at the First or Second Narrows in May and in October, and finds that the Vancouver economy experiences larger losses under a May spill scenario than an October spill scenario since roughly 50% of ocean-based economic activity occurs during peak tourist season between May 15-Sep.1. Total economic ...

  On-site workers acted quickly to contain an oil leak during the final stages of removing the wreck of the MV Miner off Scaterie Island, the government of Canada’s Nova Scotia province reports. "Thankfully, the contractor already had preventative actions in place and contained the spill immediately," said Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal Minister Geoff MacLellan. "No heavy oil got past the containment oil booms and the lobster fishery is not affected. I'm very grateful for their quick work and especially for their pro-active measures to contain the leak." The contractor, RJ MacIsaac Construction, was planning to remove the last remaining engine from the wreck site. Because it was a large ocean-going engine, the company expected oil could be an environmental risk and took appropriate preventive measures. Divers videoed the remaining wreckage and a comprehensive plan to contain any oil leak was prepared. Oil containment booms were placed around the wreckage and oil absorption materials were on-site before trying to remove the engine. Once it became clear a leak had happened the containment plan was implemented. "Without the controlled salvage of the vessel and implementation of an adequate oil-containment plan, the oil would now be released into local fishing grounds," said Mr. ...

  On 18 February 2015 a condensate leak occurred on the Gudrun platform in the North Sea. The incident has been investigated by Statoil’s corporate investigation team which classifies it to be of the highest degree of seriousness. In the morning of 18 February 2015 noise and vibrations were reported on Gudrun. Shortly afterwards hydrocarbons were confirmed in the process module. There was a 2 mm wide crack extending approximately 90% across the circumference of a two-inch pipeline. Condensate had leaked from the pipeline and resulted in gas distribution. The actual leak rate is calculated to be around 8 kilogram/second. The volume of condensate from the leak is estimated to 4 cubic metres. No one was injured as no personnel were present in the area. The investigation concludes that the outcome could have been fatal if anybody had been exposed to the leak. A gas leak of this size represents a major incident potential if ignited. “The condensate leak on Gudrun was serious with major incident potential,” says Øystein Arvid Håland, senior vice president of safety and sustainability of Development and Production Norway. “Statoil is working systematically on gas leak prevention, and the learnings from this incident shall be translated ...

  On May 16 and 17, a few media outlets reported that crude oil had leaked from Takamine, a tanker operated by NYK Line, while the ship was discharging at JST 9:28 p.m. on May 15 at Keihin Kawasaki sea berth in Tokyo Bay. However, there are no indications that any leakage of oil occurred from this ship. The vessel has subsequently sailed safely toward its next port. NYK expresses its sincere regret to the community and all relevant persons for the concern caused by these media reports, and the company will continue its efforts to maintain safe operations on all NYK ships. Source: NYK LineIn the onset, I was frank with you propecia before and after has changed my subsistence. It has become much more fun, and now I have to run. Just as it is fabulous to sit.

  Two companies involved in a 2012 oil spill while dismantling an unpermitted barge on the Hylebos Waterway in Tacoma have settled their penalties with the Washington Department of Ecology. Tacoma Industrial Properties (TIP) and RV Associates were penalized a combined $24,800 in June 2013 following the spill of around 25 gallons of oil on June 21, 2012. The spill occurred when the two companies were dismantling a derelict vessel known as the Hauff Barge without proper permits, causing a visible oil sheen that covered about 23 acres of the waterway, or an area equal to about 17 football fields. The settlement reached by TIP, RV Associates and Ecology reduces the original penalty from $24,800 to $17,000 in exchange for the parties agreeing to no further appeals or litigation stemming from the incident. The settlement required a $5,000 cash payment, while the remaining $12,000 will be satisfied by a plan that creates a salt marsh along the shore of the Hylebos Waterway. TIP and RV Associates will work with Soundview Consultants, an environmental consulting firm, to create new salt marsh near the site of the spill. The marshland will provide habitat for fish and wildlife, and increase the biological health ...

(Image Credit: NOAA, Georgia Department of Natural Resources) A new online tool developed by NOAA  to manage and integrate the massive amounts of data collected by different sources during the five years following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, called DIVER for Data Integration, Visualization, Exploration, and Reporting, is now available for use by research teams and the public at https://dwhdiver.orr.noaa.gov. The DIVER announcement plays a part in the Department of Commerce’s goal of unleashing its vast resources of environmental data and delivering on one of its key priorities – transforming data capabilities and supporting a data-driven economy. NOAA is a constituent agency of the Commerce Department. “NOAA pledged from the start of the Deepwater event to be as transparent as possible with the data collected,” said Kathryn D. Sullivan, Ph.D., under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. “The DIVER data warehouse approach builds upon that original pledge, and is another significant step in making NOAA’s environmental data available for the research community, resource managers and the general public.” DIVER provides unprecedented flexibility for filtering and downloading validated data collected as part of the ongoing Natural Resources Damage Assessment and response. These data collections now include more than 53,000 ...

  A single oil spill can release 30,000 tonnes of oil into the ocean if two vessels collide. In grounding the high weight can lead to oil disaster, in the Baltic Sea up to 120 000 tonnes. This estimate does not include the new giant tankers. The Gulf of Finland in the Baltic Sea is the riskiest of waterways in the world's oceans due to the high frequency of crossing vessels between Helsinki and Tallinn. Oil tanker traffic to Russia in particular has continued to increase despite a bleak financial outlook.The Gulf of Finland is famously difficult for maritime traffic as it is shallow and narrow and requires navigation around the many islands along the Finnish coast.In winter, darkness and ice make navigation even more challenging. "The likelihood of an oil spill on the Gulf of Finland is higher than average.It is practically a miracle that we haven't seen major accidents yet", says researcher Annukka Lehikoinen from the University of Helsinki's Department of Environmental Sciences. Lehikoinen is a member of the cross-disciplinary research group at the Kotka Maritime Research Centre.The group has studied the likelihood of different frequencies of hypothetical tanker collisions occurring on the Gulf of Finland and how often ...

  Mobil continues to assist the Bay of Plenty Regional Council (BOPRC) in responding to the leak of fuel oil to Tauranga Harbour on Monday, 29 April. Mobil’s efforts are focused on removing pockets of fuel oil which remain around the wharf where the leak occurred. Absorbent booms are being used in this process. Mobil has offered assistance to the Council including personnel to help with the shoreline clean-up which is continuing today under the direction of the BOPRC on-scene commander. Mobil Oil New Zealand Country Manager Andrew McNaught apologised for the incident and any concern caused to the local community, “Mobil has commenced its own investigation into the incident, and will fully cooperate with the BOPRC as they conduct their investigations,” he said. “Initial visual inspection of the pipeline has taken place and indicates that the fuel oil leak occurred from two small corrosion holes in a 150 mm diameter lateral pipeline. This short section of pipe (approximately three metres long) branches off the main pipeline along the wharf which carries fuel oil for ship bunkering,” said Mr McNaught. “This section of pipe has been removed and visually inspected, and has been provided to the Council today. Preliminary engineering ...

A chromatogram of oil that leaked from the Macondo well. Each peak represents one of thousands of chemical compounds in the oil (Image Credit: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution) Five years after the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded, killed 11 workers, and unleashed the largest accidental oil spill in history, the lingering question five years on is how long will it take the environment to get back to “normal.” What’s normal for the Gulf, however, is an elusive question for scientists. One of the most deviling issues is where vast amounts of the 4.9 million barrels of oil still unaccounted for and 1.85 million gallons of the toxic oil dispersant Corexit that sunk it went, and to what extent this combination is still affecting the seas, marshes, beaches and wildlife. The oil still at large, said a 2014 study from the University of California at Santa Barbara, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute and the University of California at Irvine, is estimated at about 2 million barrels, which is on the ocean floor at depths of some 1000 meters. Scientists generally estimate it will take another five to 10 years from now to determine the full impact of the spill from BP’s ...

  On 13 April, a working group led by Denmark and Indonesia met in the IMO to consider the need to regulate the issue of transboundary oil pollution. 33 countries and a number of international organisations have just met at the IMO headquarters in London under the chairmanship of Denmark and Indonesia. On this occasion, the non-existing regulations on transboundary oil pollution damage resulting from offshore activities were considered, and this has resulted in the drafting of guidance that is expected to be presented to the IMO Legal Committee in the spring of 2016. Resistance has prevented a Convention On several occasions, Denmark and Indonesia have tried to make the IMO undertake to develop an international convention in this area, but resistance from a number of major oil producing countries have made this impossible until now. The IMO Legal Committee has instead held the view that the issue was more suitable for regulation by means of regional and bilateral agreements. Therefore, the Committee has supported the development of guidance on the conclusion of such agreements. Source and Image Credit: Danish Maritime AuthorityIn the outbreak, I was outspoken with you propecia before and after has changed my existence. It has become ...