Tag: oil spill

Filming has begun on ITOPF's new production "Oil Spills in Ice Covered Waters". This film will consider the strategies employed to deal with spills in some of the most challenging conditions on the planet. ITOPF and the production team travelled north of the Arctic Circle to Svalbard and to Lulea in Northern Sweden in January and February to film in the harsh climate and remote locations that can pose special challenges for spill response. In the Arctic, as well as other icy waters, clean-up techniques that work elsewhere need to be modified to ensure that they are effective. This film will review the response strategies available, and the factors that need to be taken into account in implementing them. We will feature the scientists at the forefront of research into the fate and behaviour of oil in ice and the refinement of methods used to minimise impacts. The film will also show ITOPF staff as they train in preparation for operating in harsh Arctic conditions. The film is scheduled for release in Spring 2016, but in the meantime, view a trailer. The 2 minute clip gives a flavour of what will be a visual treat as well as a succinct ...

Nobody has ever been able to calculate the amount of oil trapped in wrecks beneath the sea but we know it is there. This is because every so often a slick of raw crude or more refined bunker fuel appears on the ocean’s surface and drifts ashore where it smothers beaches and wildlife. Now, for the first time, a piece of practical technology has been developed at the design hot shop of Miko Marine in Norway that provides a fast and economically deployed tool with the ability to prevent pollution by enabling trapped oil to be recovered before it has a chance to escape and cause damage. Whenever a ship sinks it takes its pollutants with it. Unless they have been liberated by the damage caused by the collision or the grounding, its fuel or its cargo will remain secure within the ship’s tanks. The cargo might be crude oil or any of the hundreds of different liquids transported by sea. Petrochemicals, palm oil even orange juice can find a resting place on the seabed where it is hoped that they will remain. Unfortunately rusted tanks or movement of the wreck can release the trapped liquid at any time. Many ...

According to UK’s Maritime Coastguard Agency (UK MCA), there has been a release of diesel oil from the ‘Lysblink Seaway,’ which remains aground at Kilchoan, off Scotland. Following discussions between the Secretary of State’s representative (SOSREP) Hugh Shaw and Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s Counter-Pollution, an absorbent boom has been put in to cope with the oil leak from the starboard side of the vessel. Weather conditions have moderated slightly this morning making it easier to use equipment. Briggs Marine vessels ‘Forth Jouster’ and ‘Kingdom of Fife’ are on scene and are supporting the salvage operation. A team from Svitzer Salvage is currently on board the vessel conducting a detailed damage assessment. Initial findings and salvage options will be reported to the SOSREP and the wider Salvage Control Unit, later this afternoon. A temporary exclusion zone of 100 metres has been established around the vessel. You can also read the following related article: General cargo vessel runs aground off Scotland   Source: MCA Press OfficeIn the start, I was frank with you propecia before and after has changed my existence. It has become much more fun, and now I have to run. Just as it is incredible to sit.

When oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill first began washing ashore on Pensacola Municipal Beach in June 2010, populations of sensitive microorganisms, including those that capture sunlight or fix nitrogen from the air, began to decline. At the same time, organisms able to digest light components of the oil began to multiply, starting the process of converting the pollutant to carbon dioxide and biomass. Once the lightest fractions of the oil had been consumed, the organisms that had been digesting those compounds declined, replaced by others able to chew up the remaining heavier materials. Ultimately, a year after the spill, the oil had mostly disappeared and microbial populations buried in the beach sands looked much like they had before the spill, though there were as-yet unexplained differences. That's the scenario observed by scientists who have studied the oil's impact on the complex microbial communities - which contain hundreds of single-celled organisms - on this one Gulf Coast beach. Using advanced genomic identification techniques, they saw a succession of organisms and identified population changes in specific organisms that marked the progress of the bioremediation. They also identified the specific genes contained in the oil-eating microbes and the enzymes they used at ...

Assessments conducted throughout Wednesday, 11 February,  continue to show no impact to the shoreline or wildlife, and no impact to the Martinez Marina or nearby marsh. Resources and personnel have been deployed to the affected area as a precaution to guard against any potential impact. Resources include absorbent boom, skimmers and a helicopter for aerial assessments, as needed.  Residents may continue to notice extra activity at the wharf and the Carquinez Strait area throughout the evening as cleanup operations are conducted. "We are pleased with the progress and response to the release, both in the initial actions from Shell and the joint-agency cleanup and recovery activities," said Lt. Cmdr. Rhianna Macon, Coast Guard Sector San Francisco, Deputy Incident Commander, Unified Command. "As always, we would like to thank our outstanding emergency response personnel for their great cooperation and their immediate actions to stop this release and contain the spill." At approximately 4 p.m. Tuesday Shell personnel reported a leak from a crude oil line at the Shell Martinez Wharf and confirmed the leak was stopped within 30 minutes. Shell personnel estimated the leak to be approximately two barrels of oil (approximately 84 gallons), and two issues related to the pipeline ...

Coast Guard has issued Final Rule which updates regulations to harmonize U.S. regulations with international conventions regarding oil pollution. Regulations amendments cover Title 33: Navigation and Navigable Waters to align with recent amendments to Annex I of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973, as modified by the Protocol of 1978, which were adopted by the IMO MEPC during its 52nd, 54th, 55th, and 59th sessions. This final rule also amends sections of the Vessel Response Plan regulations to include the Safety of Life at Sea Material Safety Data Sheets as an equivalent hazardous communications standard. This final rule is effective May 5, 2015. Further details may be found by clicking hereIn the origin, I was outspoken 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 improbable to sit.

Millions of gallons of oil from BP’s 2010 Deepwater Horizon blowout have been discovered in the sediments on the Gulf of Mexico’s floor says a new report, giving lie to the petroleum giant’s continue claims that it eradicated the worst consequences of the biggest maritime oil spill in US history. This and other studies are offering documentary evidence that backs findings by independent researchers who have spoken to Bellona, and begin to assemble the puzzle about where mutated fish life, plunging seafood harvests, continued oily beaches and persisting and emergent human health conditions are coming from. The Florida State University issued a report, which comes amid the third and final stage of BP’s civil trial over the spill. Earlier this month, an expert witness for BP testified that the Gulf’s shoreline had shown “substantial recovery” since the spill, and that BP’s work to clean up the oil had been “comprehensive” and “effective.” But this and other studies – as well as compelling expert testimony at the trial – show that the spill’s lasting impact on the Gulf – and the amount of oil left in it – are far from being determined. The last week of the civil trial, in which the US Justice Department is ...

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana ruled on the issues raised in the Phase 2 trial of the Deepwater Horizon case: the quantification of oil spilled and BP’s source control efforts following the accident. The Court found that 3.19 million barrels of oil were discharged into the Gulf of Mexico and therefore subject to a Clean Water Act (CWA) penalty. In addition, the Court found that BP was not grossly negligent in its source control efforts. No penalty has yet been determined. The decisions in the Phase 1 and Phase 2 trials represent steps in the process of assessing a CWA penalty. The third phase of the CWA trial, currently scheduled to begin in the Court on Tuesday, 20 January, 2015, will address the penalty to be assessed. During the penalty proceedings, the Court is required to consider the application of eight statutory factors, including the violator’s efforts to minimize or mitigate the effects of the spill: the seriousness of the violation or violations; the nature, extent, and degree of success of any efforts of the violator to minimize or mitigate the effects of the discharge; the economic impact of the penalty on the violator; ...

Despite a dramatic rise in worldwide oil tanker traffic since the 1980s, the number of oils spills has dropped significantly, finds a new study released by the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan Canadian public policy think-tank. The study, Energy Transportation and Tanker Safety in Canada, spotlights oil tanker traffic worldwide and in Canadian waters. "A dramatic increase in the amount of oil shipped by sea has coincided with a dramatic drop in the amount of spilt oil, which is great news for marine wildlife and ecosystems," said Kenneth Green, senior director of the Fraser Institute's Centre for Natural Resources. Internationally, between 1985 and 2010, aquatic transport of oil nearly doubled, while the number of oil spills (in excess of 700 tonnes) declined sharply. Moreover, of all the seaborne oil spilled (by volume) worldwide over the past four decades, 56 per cent was spilled in the 1970s while only 3.7 per cent was spilled between 2000 and 2009. In Canadian waters, the number of major tanker oil spills per decade dropped from 18 in the 1980s, to six in the 1990s, to zero between 2000 and 2004. And yet, some activists and politicians want to restrict and/or ban tanker traffic in ...