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Oil Spill Response News

11 Mar 2024

Source of Huntington Beach Oil Spill Uncertain

Source: U.S. Coast Guard

The Unified Command concluded its response to an oil sheen observed offshore of Huntington Beach, California on Monday, but the source of the oil remains unclear.Over the weekend, cleanup crews recovered approximately 85 gallons of product from offshore recovery efforts and removed roughly 1,050 pounds of oily waste/sand and tar balls from the shoreline.The U.S. Coast Guard and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Office of Spill Prevention and Response (CDFW-OSPR) collected samples from the offshore sheen and tar balls along the shoreline to help determine the source of the oil.

07 Mar 2024

Oil Leak from Capsized Barge Off Tobago Stopped After a Month

(Photo: Office of the Chief Secretary)

An oil leak from a barge carrying up to 35,000 barrels of fuel oil that capsized in early February off the Caribbean island of Tobago has stopped, said the twin islands' government on Thursday.The spill, which was first spotted off the coast of Tobago's Atlantic coast on Feb. 7, damaged some of the island's mangrove and threatened its tourism and fishing sector. The spill also entered the Caribbean Sea, threatening nearby Venezuela and Caribbean islands, including Bonaire."The hydrocarbon discharge emanating from the overturned vessel located off the coast of Tobago has stopped…

18 Feb 2024

Tobago's Tourism, Fishing Hit by Oil Slick

Source: TEMA

Nine days after a slick was first spotted by Trinidad and Tobago's Coast Guard, an oil leak from a capsized barge remains unplugged, according to first responders and authorities, prompting nations across the Caribbean to coordinate a response.The spill has spread miles from Tobago's shore, the area first hit by the incident. Trinidad this week alerted neighbors Venezuela and Grenada on possible impact to their coasts.The Caribbean Disaster Management Agency, dependent on regional group Caricom…

15 Feb 2024

Tobago Oil Spill Spreading to Grenada

(Photo: Office of the Chief Secretary)

An oil spill that has stained Tobago's coastline in the Caribbean is entering into Grenada's waters and could impact neighboring Venezuela, Tobago's Chief Secretary Farley Augustine told Reuters on Thursday.Eight days after Trinidad and Tobago's Coast Guard first spotted the oil from a capsized vessel whose owner and origin have not been confirmed, portions of the stain have moved about 144 km (89 miles) into the Caribbean Sea at a rate of 14 km per hour, Augustine said."It has now entered Grenada's territorial waters…

01 Aug 2023

Video: Ship-to-Ship Oil Transfer from FSO Safer Progressing Well

Source: Boskalis

The ship-to-ship transfer of the oil from the FSO Safer to the replacement oil tanker Yemen (formerly known as Nautica) began last week.It was an important milestone in this United Nations-coordinated operation to avert a potential massive environmental and humanitarian disaster off the coast of Yemen.Boskalis reports that the oil transfer is progressing well and will take two to three weeks.Hydraulic pumps have been lowered into each tank of the FSO Safer. During the transfer operation, inert gas is supplied to keep the tank atmosphere at safe levels during the operation.

25 Apr 2023

IMO Asks States for Equipment for FSO Safer Oil Spill Contingency Plan

Ndeavour courtesy of Boskalis

The IMO is urging Member States to contribute equipment to help UN-led efforts to prevent a possible catastrophic oil spill from the FSO Safer, an ageing and rapidly decaying floating storage offshore (FSO) unit moored 4.8 nautical miles off the Red Sea coast of Yemen.A converted super tanker, the FSO Safer contains an estimated 150,000 metric tonnes (approximately 1.1 million barrels) of crude oil, four times the amount spilled during the Exxon Valdez incident in 1989. It has been moored at Ras Isa since 1988 where it had been receiving…

03 Mar 2023

Oil Spill from Sunken Tanker Threatens Marine Ecosystems in the Philippines

Credit: The Philippines Coast Guard

Environment and disaster authorities in the Philippines rushed to contain an oil spill on Friday from a sunken fuel tanker that has reached coastal towns on a large central island, warning of dangers to marine ecosystems if more oil leaks. The tanker, MT Princess Empress, was still missing on Friday after sinking en route to Iloilo province carrying about 800,000 litres (211,338 gallons) of industrial fuel oil.The vessel encountered engine trouble on Tuesday due to overheating and drifted due to rough sea conditions, according to the coast guard.

03 Jan 2023

Stolt Tankers’ Schroeder Named Director at ITOPF

(Photo: Stolt Tankers)

Stolt Tankers’ Managing Director, Maren Schroeder has joined the board of ITOPF Limited, a not-for-profit organization specializing in preparedness for and response to accidental marine spills.“I am pleased to be able to contribute to this very important area in my new role as director at ITOPF,” said Schroeder, who will fulfil her ITOPF duties alongside her role at Stolt Tankers. “Sharing insights from the experience of Stolt Tankers will not only enhance ITOPF’s knowledge of our market segment…

30 Nov 2022

US Coast Guard Says Calcasieu, Louisiana Oil Spill Contained

Illustration only ©Studio Barcelona/AdobeStock

An estimated 3,500 gallons of used lubricant oil that spilled near Calcasieu Point Landing, in Louisiana, has been contained, U.S. Coast Guard officials said in a statement on Tuesday.The discharge, reported on Monday, was discovered to have escaped from the secondary containment at Martin Energy Services, the Coast Guard told Reuters in an emailed statement."The source of the spill has been secured and the oil has been contained with boom along the banks of the Lake Charles Industrial…

13 Nov 2022

Responder Immunity

Copyright Björn Wylezich/AdobeStock

The Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA – also known as the Clean Water Act), as amended by the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA 90), contains a responder immunity provision. That provision states, in pertinent part:(A)A person is not liable for removal costs or damages which result from actions taken or omitted to be taken in the course of rendering care, assistance, or advice consistent with the National Contingency Plan or as otherwise directed by the President relating…

27 Oct 2022

Canada's New Oil Spill Response Barges Launched

(Photo: Robert Allan Ltd.)

Two new oil spill response barges were recently completed at ASL Shipyard in Singapore for Western Canada Marine Response Corporation (WCMRC).The two 3,500 tonne barges, Sentinel 303 and Sentinel 304, will be delivered to WCMRC in October, with arrival in Canada by the end of 2022. The response barges will join WCMRC’s fleet of pollution response vessels stationed along the south coast of British Columbia.These new barges represent a significant enhancement to the pollution response capabilities already in place and will benefit the entire local maritime industry…

04 Oct 2022

Refurbished Oil Spill Response Ship Enters Service

Photo courtesy Environmental Protection Engineering (EPE)

A refurbished high-spec oil spill response vessel for the Aegean Sea has entered service under a four-year contract with the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA), a contract with an option for four additional years.Dubbed AKTEA II, the OSRV will be able to reach anywhere in the Aegean within 24 hours and can collect and carry up to 4,500 tonnes of oil.Based in Piraeus, Greece AKTEA II OSRV (IMO 9327516) has onboard capacity of 4,486 cu. m. for recovered oil and is equipped with…

09 Jun 2022

US Oil Spill Testing, Response Facility Gets Major Upgrade

A crane replaces a bridge over the Ohmsett Oil Spill Response & Renewable Energy Test facility during refurbishment in spring 2022. (Photo: BSEE)

The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement’s National Oil Spill Response Research and Renewable Energy Test Facility, known as Ohmsett, has now reopened after undergoing significant refurbishment over the past eight months as part of BSEE’s ongoing maintenance plan. Originally constructed and operated by the U.S. EPA in 1974, the facility was passed to the U.S. Navy and then to the Department of the Interior’s Minerals Management Service in 1990. Today, it is the only facility in the U.S. conducting full-scale oil spill response research, equipment testing and training using live oil.