Tag: oil spill

As the Arctic warms and sea ice retreats, oil and gas exploration is underway in Canada's Beaufort Sea, with all the benefits and risks this development entails. To better understand these risks, particularly those of proposed shipping and exploration, WWF has taken a milestone step in answering these big questions by leading groundbreaking research to map possible oil spills in the Beaufort Sea. This study looks at four types of oil spills under different conditions, resulting in 22 different scenarios. Explore some of the key findings by clicking at the WWF's interactive map below , which WWF is making available to help advance discussions about balancing conservation and development in the Canadian Arctic. The results from the study give northern residents and decision-makers scientific evidence they need to make choices about the risks they face. The project involved the analysis of multiple types of oil spill scenarios that could occur in the Beaufort Sea. The goal was to assess the transport, fates, and effects of oil on nearby surface water and shorelines from potential crude, heavy fuel, and light fuel oil spills. Modelling investigated both surface and subsea releases. Four different generalized "spill analyses" were evaluated for this study: a shipping spill analysis in ...

A helper from Chris Reddy's WHOI lab collected oil samples from a Gulf coast beach The 2010 Deepwater Horizon (DWH) spill in the Gulf of Mexico was the largest accidental release of oil into the ocean, with approximately 210 million gallons gushing from the blown out well. In an attempt to prevent vast quantities of oil from fouling beaches and marshes, BP applied 1.84 million gallons of chemical dispersant to oil to oil released in the subsurface and to oil slicks at the sea surface. The dispersant was thought to rapidly degrade in the environment. A new study by scientists at Haverford College and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) has found that the dispersant compound DOSS, which decreases the size of oil droplets and hampers the formation of large oil slicks, remains associated with oil and can persist in the environment for up to four years. The study was recently published in Environmental Science & Technology Letters. The study examined samples collected from deep-sea corals and surrounding sediments collected in Dec. 2010 as well as oil-soaked sand patties found on coastal beaches since July 2010 to the present. "We found DOSS persisted in variable quantities in deep-sea coral communities 6 months ...

The OSPAR Commission adopted a landmark Regional Action Plan on Marine Litter along with measures to protect 16 vulnerable species and habitats. The Regional Action Plan on Marine Litter will enable OSPAR countries to substantially reduce marine litter in North-East Atlantic. The Plan will address litter from both land and sea based sources and will result in a reduction in marine litter on coasts and beaches. The Plan supports the global effort to achieve significant reductions in marine debris by 2025 as agreed by Heads of States at Rio+20. It provides a regional contribution to the European Union's Marine Strategy Framework Directive. The plan also invites international organisations, the private sector and the non-governmental organisations to cooperate in its implementation. The meeting also agreed on measures to protect and conserve 11 species and 5 habitats identified by OSPAR as being particularly vulnerable within the North-East Atlantic. These include cod, European eel, 5 species of shark and 2 species of ray along with 5 important marine habitats including seagrass meadows and deep sea hydrothermal vents. A biologically diverse North-East Atlantic is vital for the proper functioning of marine ecosystems as well as supporting human health and the millions of livelihoods that ...

The first inland waterway vessel refitted with a Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) drive system was officially delivered 19 June in Rotterdam. For 8 weeks the push-tow combination was at Koedood Diesel Service in Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht where the engines have been replaced by dual-fuel LNG engines from Wärtsilä. This makes the Eiger-Nordwand the first barge in the world that has been converted to LNG propulsion. The conversion to LNG gives the Eiger-Nordwand great advantages in emissions reduction and savings in fuel costs compared to diesel. The emission of pollutants is greatly reduced: 20% less CO2, 85% less nitrogen and 99% less particulate matter. The official program started with speeches by Siebe Riedstra, Secretary-General of the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment and Sophie Cabanis, policy officer at DG Move from the European Commission. In the presence of 400 relations, a panel discussion was held under the leadership of Paul van Liempt, during which the benefits of LNG as fuel, the development of LNG infrastructure and Danser Groups long-term vision on sustainability of the inland container transport per barge where discussed. After the official part was finished a spectacular trampoline act took place on board of the barge. The Maas between Erasmus- and ...

Proposals to protect the world's oceans have been welcomed by the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), the principal trade association for merchant shipowners. ICS recommends that the Global Ocean Commission's (GOC) ideas should be taken seriously. The GOC wishes to see a greater level of environmental protection, especially with respect to areas of economic activity, other than shipping, that currently may not be adequately regulated. Issues addressed in its inquiry report, launched in New York last night, include preserving global fishing stocks, preventing ongoing damage to ecosystems caused by land based industry and agriculture, and preventing the acidification of the sea. ICS Secretary General, Peter Hinchliffe said: "The shipping industry is very fortunate in already having an established framework of global Conventions and rules that have been developed by the United Nations International Maritime Organization. For the most part these IMO rules are fully implemented and enforced worldwide and have directly contributed to the improvement of shipping's environmental performance. However, shipowners are global citizens who will share the GOC's concern about the vacuum that still exists with respect to wider governance and protection of the oceans." Ideas set out by the Global Ocean Commission include the establishment of a stand-alone ...

The UK P&I Club has published a new pocket guide for ship owners and operators on how to prevent improper discharges of oily water from their vessels. Such discharges - which are sometimes undertaken by crew members believing they are acting in their employer's best interests - can prove economically disastrous. The publication follows two high-profile prosecutions against ship operators in the US last year for pumping out oily bilge water, resulting in criminal convictions and fines of US$11.5 million. Both cases were brought under the US Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS), which implements the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL). Annex I of MARPOL requires machinery space bilge water to be processed through a functioning oily water separator before it is discharged, with an oil content meter sampling the effluent to ensure there is no more than 15 parts per million of oil. Under APPS it is a crime in US waters to bypass or trick the oily water separator or oil content meter, or to maintain an inaccurate oil record book. In the recent US cases, which involved a total of five ships, the oily water separators and oil content meters had ...

The Aktea tanker has been recontracted by EMSA as an oil spill response vessel for the Aegean Sea, following a tender held in 2013. The vessel is now back in operation since 1 April. The vessel is based in Piraeus and provides a contracted storage capacity of 3,000m3 which is distributed over ten cargo tanks. The oil spill response equipment assigned for this contract covers a full set of sweeping arms and booms, as well as a high capacity skimmer and oil slick detection system. Source: EMSAIn the onset, I was forthright 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.

Crude oil from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster causes severe defects in the developing hearts of bluefin and yellowfin tunas, according to a new study by a team of NOAA and academic scientists. Oil near the Deepwater Horizon disaster spill source as seen during an aerial overflight on May 20, 2010. (Credit: NOAA) The findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on the 25th anniversary of the Exxon Valdez oil spill, show how the largest marine oil spill in United States history may have affected tunas and other species that spawned in oiled offshore habitats in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Atlantic bluefin tuna, yellowfin tuna, and other large predatory fish spawn in the northern Gulf during the spring and summer months, a time that coincided with the Deepwater Horizon spill in 2010. These fish produce buoyant embryos that float near the ocean surface, potentially in harm's way as crude oil from the damaged wellhead rose from the seafloor to form large surface slicks. The new study shows that crude oil exposures adversely affect heart development in the two species of tuna and an amberjack species by slowing the heartbeat or causing an uncoordinated rhythm, which can ultimately lead ...

The 2013 GreenPort Congress clearly identified that to achieve an environmentally responsible port sector, port users need to communicate more. The 9th GreenPort Congress will therefore focus on improving the relationship between the ports, its users, customers and stakeholders, who will all be involved in the programme. Hosted by the Port of Barcelona on 15-17 October 2014, the following sessions will be included: Customers, users and stakeholders perception of a Green Port Tools for green ports to respond to stakeholders' expectations Meeting the forthcoming challenges for green ports Global versus regional regulations on shipping related aspects and impact on ports Financing opportunities for green port R&D projects The 2nd GreenPort Cruise Conference will take place the day before the GreenPort Congress, on 14 October 2014, and will address the environmental and sustainability issues facing cruise ports and terminals across the world as, with the increasing popularity of cruise holidays, ports are seeing a large increase in the size and number of passenger ships visiting.  The local infrastructure is also required to cope with the influx of huge numbers of passengers at a time. Cruise ports will learn how to avoid congestion in the cruise port, whether to choose Cold ironing ...

Clean hydrogen power that's expected to lower emissions and reduce energy consumption will be coming to the Port of Honolulu in 2015 after the completion of a new fuel cell technology demonstration, one that could lead to a commercial technology for ports worldwide. The work comes on the heels of last year's study and analysis that confirmed the viability of hydrogen fuel cells to provide auxiliary power to docked or anchored ships. Hydrogen researchers at Sandia National Laboratories have joined with several partners in the follow-up project, which will result in a portable, self-contained hydrogen fuel cell unit that can float on a barge, sit on a dock or be transported to wherever it's needed to provide electrical power. Ports have been a major source of water and air pollution in the U.S. but remained relatively unregulated until recent years. As ports have begun to expand and their impact on the environment has become more apparent, port operators face a variety of regulations. Many ports have begun to enact sustainability goals or adopt green practices, and that's where fuel cells can play a role. "No one has ever built this kind of custom unit for this purpose," said Sandia's project ...