Oil Spill Incidents News

Supporting countries to prepare for contingencies is an important part of International Maritime Organization (IMO) 's capacity building work.According to the UN body, Cambodia is the latest country to benefit from IMO assistance to update its oil spill contingency plan, by identifying country-specific risks and existing gaps in order to be able to respond effectively to oil spill incidents.A national workshop in Phnom Penh, Cambodia (6-9 August) has brought together 60 participants from 20 government entities and oil companies.Attendees received an overview of the international framework for oil spill preparedness and response and are…

Sea-state monitoring firm Miros Group is set to supply eight Oil Spill Detection (OSD) systems to Brazilian oil major Petrobras in the world’s largest x-band radar-based OSD surveillance and response contract to date.The agreement is in partnership with Ulstein Belga Marine, primary supplier to Petrobras, and includes radars and thermal imaging cameras for Petrobras Mobile Offshore Production Units (MOPUs) in the Campos Basin. Delivery and commissioning are scheduled for 2019.The…

Half a billion tones of oil delivered by Kazakhstani Shippers to the Tengiz-Novorossiysk crude pipeline since the commencement of operation of CPC pipeline system was lifted from the Marine Terminal of Caspian Pipeline Consortium on November 17, 2018.The “milestone” ton was loaded on the ALEKSEY KOSYGIN tanker, said a press release from the CPC pipeline system, which mainly collects crude oil from large oil fields of West Kazakhstan, as well as crude oil from Russian producers.The first tanker was loaded at CPC Marine Terminal near Novorossiysk (near Yuzhnaya Ozereevka. Settlement, Krasnodar Krai) on October 13, 2001. In February 2018, the 5000th tanker was demoored from the Single point mooring.About 45 tankers are currently beeing loaded at CPC Marine Terminal monthly.

The International Oil Pollution Compensation Funds (IOPC) have provided help in 150 oil spill incidents since its inception in 1978. Denmark has been a member of these crucial organisations since the beginning.According to a release from Danish Maritime Authority (DMA), IOPC-funds began with the Torrey Canyon oil spill disaster in 1967, which clearly demonstrated the need for an effective international regime to pay for the massive damage caused by major oil spills.Director, Maritime Regulation and Legal Affairs in the DMA, Kristina Ravn, said: “Oil spills occur from time to time and that’s why the IOPC-funds remain important, ensuring due compensation for the victims.

Abu Dhabi Ports announced  the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between its subsidiary, SAFEEN, a provider of world-class integrated marine and port services for Abu Dhabi Ports, and ADNOC Logistics & Services, in the area of oil spill containment, cleaning, and maintenance. Under the terms of the agreement, ADNOC Logistics & Services will support SAFEEN in handling tier two oil spill incidents through containment, cleaning and maintenance activities. Tier two oil spills cover a greater area of water and involve more quantities of oil than tier one oil spills, which SAFEEN already is equipped to deal with. Hamad Al Maghrabi…

A regional conference of countries in west, central and southern Africa has committed to continue to work at both national and regional levels to boost preparedness to deal with oil spill incidents which could be devastating both for the marine environment and financially. The conference (6-9 November) in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, was hosted by CIAPOL, the Ivoirian pollution control centre. It brought together industry and government focal points from 20 out of 22 west, central and southern African countries covered by the Global Initiative for West, Central and Southern Africa (GI-WACAF). This project is run by the International Maritime Organization (IMO)…

The Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) meets for its 68th session from May 11-15, 2015, at IMO Headquarters in London. Items on the agenda include the proposed adoption of the environmental part of the Polar Code and associated draft MARPOL amendments to make the Code mandatory; the implementation of the Ballast Water Management Convention; further work on air pollution and energy efficiency measures; and a proposal to extend the Great Barrier Reef and Torres Strait Particularly Sensitive Sea Area (PSSA) to parts of the Coral Sea.

This month’s featured INSIGHTS executive is Steven A. Candito, President and CEO of the National Response Corporation (NRC). He has extensive experience with OPA 90 compliance issues with particular focus on vessel owner and insurance matters. Candito was previously an attorney with Haight Gardner Poor & Havens, specializing in maritime litigation and environmental law. He also served as a marine engineer aboard Exxon USA’s domestic tanker fleet from 1980 to 1985. Candito is a graduate of Hofstra University School of Law and the United States Merchant Marine Academy.

Dubai-based Swire Emergency Response Services (SERS), a fully owned subsidiary of Swire Pacific Offshore group, announced its partnership with Mediterranean-based International Environmental and Marine Services (IEMS) to jointly provide Tier 2/3 response services to clients in Europe, Africa and the Middle East The partnership was inked on 24 October in Dubai. “We are excited about the collaboration between SERS and IEMS. This partnership will allow both companies to leverage on each other’s expertise and provide a broader range of highly sophisticated, prompt and reliable emergency response services to the offshore oil and gas industry.

The Minister of Transport reintroduced in the House of Commons the Safeguarding Canada’s Seas and Skies Act, an important piece of legislation first tabled in Parliament on March 18, 2013, as part of the government of Canada’s comprehensive measures to establish a World-Class Tanker Safety System. “As the Speech from the Throne reiterated this week, our government remains committed to protecting Canada’s coasts and shores and building a world-class tanker safety system in Canada”, said the Honorable Lisa Ratite, Minister of Transport. Proposed amendments to the Marine Liability Act will fill a critical gap in the current liability and compensation regime and implement a new international convention that covers incidents involving hazardous and noxious substances carried by ships.

Russia is an energy superpower and the country has vast and rich natural resources. Besides gas and coal reserves (some of the largest in the world), Russia today is ranked as the world’s biggest oil producing nation accounting for well over 12% of the global output. Moreover, the country exports more than 70% of its oil to the world markets. That said, Russia’s output of oil amounts to a third of what collectively the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) produces. The country has relied on oil production for decades, however there has been a notable geographical shift.

More and more authorities are specifying Rolls-Royce ship designs and equipment for coastguard and anti-pollution vessels. Maritime states are increasingly aware of threats to their coastlines and exclusive economic zones (EEZ). The nature and seriousness of the threats varies from state to state. They may include fisheries control and prevention of illegal fishing, emergency towing of ships with engine or steering failure which represent a pollution hazard if they drift ashore, and pollution control and clean up should the worst happen. In addition come a host of other coastguard functions. Some countries prefer to split their various coastal protection and EEZ management functions among different types of vessel.

The Thirteenth U.S. Coast Guard District and Washington state (Ecology) have formalized protocols for improved coordination of their oil pollution prevention and response efforts in Washington state waters. Capt. Myles Boothe, Chief, 13th Coast Guard District Marine Safety Division; and Dale Jensen, Ecology’s spills program manager, signed the protocols last Friday at the 13th Coast Guard District office. In May 2001, Governor Gary Locke and USCG Rear Adm. Erroll M. Brown signed a Memorandum of Agreement to work together to achieve a coordinated and efficient working relationship. The new protocols for Washington waters apply to all oil spill incidents and include information sharing…

This is a year to get things done in Washington. After a relatively unproductive congressional session last year and a slow start to the 106th Congress due to the focus on impeachment, the congressional leadership is promising an active year focused on "the people's business." That activism is good news for America's tugboat, towboat and barge industry, as there are two items - the deficit reduction tax and the use of strict criminal liability statutes - that ought to be addressed by this Congress. First, while the budget surplus debate considers options ranging from saving social security to paying down the national debt, we're told that public opinion polls do not generally favor spending the surplus in the form of a tax cut.