Houthi Attacks Must Ease for Salvage of Two Vessels, IMO Head Says
Efforts to limit environmental damage from a cargo vessel that sank after a Houthi missile strike and another abandoned during a fiery assault are on hold until attacks on ships ease, the United Nations' maritime shipping regulatory agency said on Monday.The UK-owned Rubymar last month became the first vessel lost since the Houthis began targeting commercial ships in the Red Sea area in November. The bulk carrier with 21,000 metric tons of fertiliser contained in its cargo hold…
Bulk Carrier Rubymar Sinks After Being Struck by Houthis it the Red Sea
The UK-owned Rubymar, attacked by Houthi militants last month, has sunk in the Red Sea, Yemen's internationally recognized government said on Saturday, warning of an "environmental catastrophe" from the ship's cargo of fertilizer.The vessel is the first lost since the Houthis began targeting commercial shipping in November, forcing shipping firms to divert vessels on to the longer, more expensive route around southern Africa.The Iranian-backed Houthis, who control the north of Yemen and other large centers…
Tobago's Tourism, Fishing Hit by Oil Slick
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…
Aker BP Restarts Production at Alvheim Field After Unexpected Downtime
Norwegian oil company Aker BP has restored production at Alvheim field, causing an oil spill during the process of starting up the production vessel located in the central North Sea. The downtime resulted from a malfunction in new equipment installed during maintenance activities in the previous quarter, causing a deferral of approximately one month in the production from the Alvheim area, Aker BP said. The oil spill from the Alvheim production vessel on November 29 occurred in connection with starting up the field following an unplanned production shutdown, where one well was producing.
Philippines Finds Sunken Fuel Tanker 3 Weeks after Spill
A leaking fuel tanker that sank off the central Philippines three weeks ago has been found using an underwater robot from Japan, a provincial governor said on Tuesday, as authorities sought more foreign help to address the oil spill.The discovery of MT Princess Empress, which was carrying about 800,000 liters (211,338 gallons) of industrial fuel oil when it capsized on Feb. 28 and eventually sank, was deemed crucial in stopping the spill, which reached shorelines in three provinces.
Philippines to Deploy Subsea ROV to Pinpoint Location of Stricken Tanker
Philippine authorities believe they have found the location of a tanker that sank off a central province last week, the environment ministry said on Monday, amid a race to assess the extent of an oil spill and contain further environmental damage.The tanker, the MT Princess Empress, is thought to be lying at about 1,200 feet (366 meters) below sea level, off Oriental Mindoro province, though the information still needed to be verified, the ministry said in a statement.A remotely operated vehicle would be deployed to help determine the exact location of the tanker…
Refurbished Oil Spill Response Ship Enters Service
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…
Pollution Fears Grow as Grounded Ship Leaks Oil off Gibraltar
Gibraltar struggled on Friday to minimize any environmental impact of a fuel leak from a bulk carrier three days after it collided with a tanker, as reports of oiled birds emerged and several beaches in Spain and the British territory flew red flags.The government of the enclave on the southern tip of Spain said all diesel fuel from tanks of the beached OS-35 had been removed.
Oil Workers Race to Protect Beaches from Spill Offshore Thailand
Hundreds of workers set up oil barriers along beach fronts in Thailand's eastern Rayong province on Friday as authorities raced to limit the environmental damage from gallons of oil that leaked from an underwater pipeline earlier this week.The leak from a pipeline owned by Star Petroleum Refining Public Company Limited (SPRC) started late on Tuesday and was brought under control a day later after spilling an estimated 50,000 litres (13,209 gallons) of oil into the ocean 20 kilometers…
Why Is It So Hard to Clean Up An Offshore Oil Spill?
Oil spills into ocean waters, subject to winds and tides and spreading swiftly over wide areas, are difficult to clean up.The 3,000-barrel weekend spill off the coast of southern California is nowhere near as disastrous as mega-spills like the Deepwater Horizon explosion that sent millions of barrels of oil into U.S. waters of the Gulf of Mexico. But swift movement of the liquids can kill wildlife and foul beaches before cleanup teams are deployed. Federal and state responders begin fighting oil spills by deploying diving teams…
'Catastrophic' California Offshore Oil Spill Kills Fish, Damages Wetlands
A large oil spill off the southern California coast left fish dead, birds mired in petroleum and wetlands contaminated, prompting local officials to call it an environmental catastrophe.The U.S. Coast Guard, heading a clean-up response involving federal, state, and city agencies, said on Sunday there was an around-the-clock investigation into how the spill occurred.An estimated 126,000 gallons, or 3,000 barrels, had spread into an oil slick covering about 13 square miles of the Pacific Ocean since it was first reported on Saturday morning…
Black Sea Oil Spill Much Larger than Initially Reported
An oil spill off Russia's Black Sea coast over the weekend spread over an area of nearly 80 square kilometers and was much larger than initially thought, scientists at Russia's Academy of Sciences (RAN) said on Wednesday citing satellite imaging.A leak occurred as the Greek-flagged Minerva Symphony tanker took on oil at the Yuzhno-Ozereyevka sea terminal near Novorossiysk in southern Russia, the Caspian Pipeline Consortium that owns the terminal said on Monday.The consortium, which transports oil from Kazakhstan, said on Monday the spill had spread over 200 square meters and involved 12 cubic meters of oil. It said the spill was quickly contained and posed no threat to people or wildlife.But on Wednesday…
Indonesian Leader Orders All-out Effort to Find Submarine as Oxygen Runs Low
Indonesia's president ordered an all-out effort to find a missing submarine in a race against time to save the 53 crew, whose oxygen supply defense chiefs said would last only until Saturday.Indonesia sent a helicopter and five ships to search waters north of the holiday island of Bali but found no signs of the KRI Nanggala-402, which went missing early on Wednesday during a torpedo drill.“I have ordered the military chief, navy chief of staff, the search and rescue agency and other instances to deploy all the forces and the most optimal efforts to find and rescue the submarine crew…
Indonesia: Sailors on Missing Submarine Have Enough Oxygen Until Saturday
The sailors aboard a missing Indonesian submarine have enough oxygen to last until Saturday, aboard a vessel that had been in good condition, the country's defense chiefs said on Thursday, as the search for the submarine continued.There were no signs of the KRI Nanggala-402, with 53 crew aboard as of Thursday afternoon, where a search and rescue mission was ongoing in calm weather conditions.Yudo Margono, the navy chief of staff, said that there would be enough oxygen for the sailors to last until Saturday…
List: Major Oil Spills from Ships
The Sri Lankan navy said on Tuesday an oil slick had been spotted a kilometer from a loaded supertanker carrying roughly 2 million barrels of oil that has been engulfed in intermittent fires since an explosion on September 3.Oil from the engine room of the 20-year old New Diamond tanker “appears to have leaked out to the sea” following regular bouts of water-dousing by fire-fighting vessels, the navy spokesman said.The oil slick has raised concerns about the potential of further leakage from the cargo holds…
Sri Lanka Douses Another Fire on New Diamond Tanker. Tows it to Deeper Water
The Sri Lankan navy said on Wednesday it had extinguished another fire on a stricken supertanker loaded with 2 million barrels of oil and is towing it to deeper water.The navy's disaster management team put out the fire that reignited on Monday on the MT New Diamond, and there were currently no fires burning on the ship which is 41 nautical miles (76 km) off Sri Lanka's east coast.Officials were working to assess any damage to the environment from the incident, which began on Sept.
Oil Slick Spotted Near Fire-stricken Tanker
Sri Lanka's navy said on Tuesday that an oil slick had been spotted a kilometer from a loaded supertanker off the country's east coast, as efforts to extinguish a fire on board continued.Sri Lankan officials are working to assess any damage to the environment and marine life from the incident, which began on September 3, when a fire initially broke out in the engine room of the New Diamond supertanker.The first fire aboard the ship, which was chartered by Indian Oil Corp to import some 2 million barrels of oil from Kuwait, was put out, but a second one broke out on Monday."The ship has tilted
PDVSA Says Idled Nabarima FSO in 'Satisfactory' Condition
An idled oil storage facility off Venezuela's eastern coast is in "satisfactory" condition, an official with state company Petroleos de Venezuela said, after a series of incidents in recent months raised concerns about environmental hazards.About 1.3 million barrels of Corocoro crude have been stuck for over a year aboard the Nabarima FSO (floating storage and offloading facility), part of the Petrosucre joint venture between PDVSA, as the company is known, and Italy's Eni SpA, as U.S. sanctions have complicated the nation's exports.With no operating crew on board, in July the vessel presented an 8% incline that created the risk of a spill, and in late August a sea water leak led to flooding in the engine room.
Ship Believed to Have Spilled Oil off Venezuela
An oil slick washed up over the weekend on the coastline of Venezuela's western Falcon state, known for pristine beaches and nature preserves, two opposition lawmakers said on Monday, though there was no official comment on the spill's provenance.Maria Hernandez, who chairs the opposition-held National Assembly's environmental committee, said she was concerned about the effect of pollution on marine life as well as water supplies onshore.A satellite image posted on Twitter by…
Brazilian Beaches Hit by Second Oil Spill
Crude oil smudges have been spotted at some Brazilian beaches in the northeast state of Ceará, the country's navy said on Monday, almost two months after the area was hit by another oil slick.That was part of a broader spill, whose origin remains a mystery, that stained hundreds of beaches on Brazil's northeast coast between September and November, threatening marine life, tourism and fishing.The navy said samples of the new spill were being sent for analysis to a marine studies institute…
France Battles Slick from Capsized Boxship
French authorities battled on Thursday to contain an oil slick after the Italian Grande America ship capsized in the Atlantic this week.The Grimaldi Lines container ship capsized and sank on Tuesday, after catching fire while sailing from Hamburg to Casablanca. Britain's Royal Navy frigate Argyll rescued all 27 crew members from the water.The ship was carrying 2,200 tonnes of heavy fuel when it sank some 330 km (200 miles) off the coast from La Rochelle in western France. Footage…
New Oil Spill Tech Solutions Put to the Test
No two oil spill response operations are the same. Each can present new and even tougher challenges for spill responders as they detect, contain and recover spilled oil. Diverse aspects affecting oil spill response operations can be the physical environment, spill monitoring, use of chemical dispersants, and the availability of proper technology for the situation.Some challenges have been met through research and technology development of techniques for dealing with spills. However…
Rescuers Hunting for Ferry Disaster Victims in Indonesia
The search for victims of a ferry that sank in the lake of an ancient supervolcano crater in Indonesia will resume on Wednesday with divers and an underwater drone to scour the depths for at least 128 missing passengers.The wooden tourist ferry sank in rough weather on Lake Toba on Sumatra island on Monday. Eighteen survivors were found that evening, but only one body was recovered, and a day long search on Tuesday was suspended having failed to account for any more.One survivor, Widya, said her family died when the boat was hit by strong waves."There were at least five couples with two children each. I wish I had died with my family…
