Tag: oil spill

  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 ...

  Five years after the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history, communities along the Gulf of Mexico continue to struggle with the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, according to University of Florida researchers engaged in a series of projects funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. And while most of the nation's attention continues to focus on the environmental and financial toll of the spill that killed 11 workers and flooded Gulf waters with millions of gallons of oil, the less obvious consequences, including those related to public health, may prove the most long-lasting, researchers say. "The individuals in these communities know how to deal with natural disasters such as hurricanes, but the oil spill forced them to face something they didn't understand," said J. Glenn Morris Jr., director of UF's Emerging Pathogens Institute and lead investigator of the study. "In terms of long-term effects, it's always the monster you don't know that's the most unsettling." Morris and his team studied levels of anger, anxiety and depression at various points over the past five years in residents of Franklin County, Fla., and Baldwin County, Ala. The researchers observed that while 10 percent to 13 percent of ...

  The Government of Canada issued a statement by Jody Thomas, Commissioner of the Canadian Coast Guard regarding the Marathassa oil spill as follows: "The Canadian Coast Guard was notified by municipal emergency services on April 8 at 5:10 p.m. that they received a report from a recreational boater of pollution in Vancouver Harbour with a slick around the bulk carrier Marathassa. In instances of ship-source or mystery spills, the Canadian Coast Guard leads the coordination of the environmental response. By 5:14 p.m., the Canadian Coast Guard informed emergency management partners of the incident in accordance with recognized protocols, which inform local, shore-side authorities such as municipal governments and First Nations. At 6:08 p.m., the Canadian Coast Guard had given advanced notice to Western Canada Marine Response Corporation (WCMRC) to stand-by for a potential response, consistent with established practices. WCMRC was officially activated at 8:06 p.m. and their crews arrived on scene at 9:25 p.m. with multiple vessels. At 5:38 p.m., a harbour vessel for the Port of Vancouver had confirmed an unrecoverable minimum sheen was in the Bay, but the Canadian Coast Guard performed its own assessment over the next hour and determined the spill was more serious. All through ...

  The Seafarers’ International Union of Canada (SIU), in conjunction with the Canadian Maritime & Supply Chain Coalition (CMSCC), representing the majority of Seafarers & Maritime Logistics Unions across Canada, is calling on the Government of Canada to reverse the Maritime provisions outlined in the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). They are calling on the Canadian Government to strengthen Canada’s Cabotage laws in order prevent another environmental catastrophe like Vancouver's oil spill this week. Within CETA’s Maritime provisions, exploited and overworked foreign crew, unfamiliar with Canada’s fragile ecosystem, would be allowed to operate between two Canadian Ports, trade previously reserved for Canadian flagged and crewed vessels. This week’s spill was from the vessel MARATHASSA, a bulk carrier sailing under the Cyprus flag with foreign crew manning the vessel. Precisely the kind of vessel CETA would allow into trade in Canada permanently. “The SIU of Canada is outraged that the Conservative Government is risking the St. Lawrence River’s and Great Lakes’ fragile ecosystem in the name of trade,” said James Given, President, Seafarers’ International Union of Canada and Chair of the CMSCC. “The SIU has long advocated that it would only take one accident to cause irreversible damage to the ...

  The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) is responding to an collision on the lower Mississippi River near Convent, Louisiana, Monday, 6 April. Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector New Orleans received report at approximately 4:00 p.m., the motor vessel Privocean, a 751 foot bulk carrier, broke free from its mooring and drifted down river and collided with the 98 foot towing vessel Texas which was moored at the time. The crew of the Texas taken to hospital for medical evaluation but no injuries were reported at this time. The Privocean continued to drift down river and also collided with the motor vessel Bravo, an 816 foot tank ship, which was off loading crude oil at the time of the incident. The Bravo was able to complete emergency shutdown procedures before breaking free of her moorings and connection points, causing an oil spill. The Privocean was able to get underway and anchor at mile marker 162. The Bravo is half a mile down the river from its original position and is anchored with a two tug escort. All vessels are being actively being monitored by the U.S. Coast Guard response teams. The Mississippi River is closed from mile marker 163 to mile ...

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 ...