L3 Harris Tapped to Deliver USV for Offshore Oil Spill Response
An unidentified "leading integrated oil and gas company" recently took delivery of an Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) from L3Harris Technologies, a USV designed to help out during oil spill response operations.C-Tug 3 is an 11-ft. USV outfitted with L3Harris' ASView control system,a system designed to enable USV remote operations from a land-based control station. C-Tug 3 is designed to execute pre-programmed mission plans and real-time teleoperation via a remote touch screen unit. Once deployed, the USV can tow an oil containment boom into position to prevent the spread of any contaminants.
Stricken Tanker Sinks, Leaves Large Slick in East China Sea
Two bodies, black box recovered from tanker before sinking; Iran says remaining 29 crew, passengers presumed dead. A stricken Iranian tanker that sank in the East China Sea on Sunday in the worst oil ship disaster in decades has produced a large oil slick, Chinese media and Japanese authorities said on Monday, as worries grew over damage to the marine ecosystem. The tanker Sanchi (IMO:9356608) had been adrift and ablaze after crashing into the freighter CF Crystal (IMO:9497050) on Jan. 6. Strong winds had pushed it away from the Chinese coast, where the incident happened, and into Japan's exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The Japan Coast Guard said oil had spread over an area 13 km (8.1 miles) long and 11 km (6.8 miles) wide…
OCIMF Encourages Adoption of Inert Gas Systems
The Oil Companies International Marine Forum’s (OCIMF) latest information paper, released on March 13, addresses the use of inert gas for the carriage of flammable oil cargoes. In the paper, titled Inert Gas Systems: the use of inert gas for the carriage of flammable oil cargoes, OCIMF fully supports the IMO introduction (from January 1, 2016) of the mandatory fitting to new build tankers 8,000 DWT and over, of an inert gas system when carrying flammable cargoes. “The safety benefits of inert gas in cargo tanks are well recognized throughout the tanker industry…
Safety Issues May Cause More Petrobras Stoppages
Brazil's state-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA could face new production stoppages on platforms in the Campos Basin if it does not resolve lingering safety issues, the Folha de S. Paulo newspaper reported on Sunday. The company, best known as Petrobras, has improved safety standards in its offshore fields in the last two years but needs to improve "a lot"," a federal labor-law prosecutor, Mauricio Coentro, told the newspaper. If continuing problems are not resolved, platform shutdowns may be necessary, he added. The paper said there have been eight accidents since November in the Campos Basin, located east and northeast of Rio de Janeiro, where Brazil gets 80 percent of its 2.11 million barrels per day of oil output.
