Oil Discharge News

The U.S. Coast Guard said on Wednesday it was responding to an oil discharge near the Main Pass Oil Gathering (MPOG) Co's pipeline system in the Gulf of Mexico, while the main pipeline and several surrounding ones remained shut in."The reported sheen is being investigated and has not been confirmed to be associated with the November 16 observed initial discharge," the Coast Guard said.The Coast Guard had not yet identified any damage or indication of a leak after surveying the entire length of the pipeline along with 22.16 miles (36 km) of surrounding pipelines.

The US Coast Guard’s Office of Commercial Vessel Compliance has released its U.S. Port State Control Annual Report for 2022, with Latvia noted as having the highest detention ratio, ahead of Bolivia.The report lists highest risk flag administrations based on their 2020-2022 detention ratio as: Latvia (57.14%), Bolivia (31.25%), Togo (7.69%), Curacao (4.88%), Italy (3.39%), Turkey (2.90%) and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (2.30%).Medium risk flag administrations were Cyprus…

The U.S. Coast Guard and Florida’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) are monitoring periodic discharges of oil from the Liberty Ship Thomas Heyward, a World War II era vessel sunk in 1977 to serve as an artificial reef approximately six miles southwest of Destin, Fla.Following Hurricane Sally in September 2020, the National Response Center (NRC) began receiving reports of pollution in the vicinity of the artificial reef. Coast Guard personnel conducted preliminary investigations…

A Singaporean-flagged oil tanker discharged oil on the Lower Mississippi River near Kenner, La., on Thursday.U.S. Coast Guard Sector New Orleans watchstanders received notification at 6:08 p.m. that the Hafnia Rhine discharged oil during a fueling operation with a fuel barge at Ama Anchorage, mile marker 115. Watchstanders dispatched Coast Guard pollution responders to the scene.The tanker crew secured the oil discharge, but Sector New Orleans pollution investigators estimated up to 2…

A retired U.S. Navy destroyer USS The Sullivans has capsized after suffering a severe hull breech while moored on the Buffalo waterfront.On April 13, the 376-foot Fletcher-class destroyer-turned-museum experienced an electrical power-loss resulting in the failure of the onboard water discharge pumps. Progressive flooding and extreme weather conditions caused the vessel to list 45 degrees on its starboard side.Private contractors have been brought on-site by the Buffalo Naval Park to begin dewatering the vessel with four industrial dewatering pumps capable of discharging more than 13…

Taiwan's state-owned refiner CPC Corp has started cleaning up an offshore oil spill caused by a pipeline that cracked during the discharging of oil from a vessel at its Talin refinery, the company's spokesman said on Wednesday.The oil leak occurred on Tuesday at 2:18 a.m. (1818 GMT) and was likely caused by bad weather, the company said in a statement. CPC immediately halted oil discharge following the incident, it added.The incident will not affect the refinery's operations and…

A U.S.-flagged tug and deck barge reportedly struck a pier and grounded while conducting docking maneuvers at the Ensenada Honda auxiliary cargo dock in Culebra Island, Puerto Rico, on Tuesday.The tugboat Don Jaime and barge Marilin H have been refloated, and there are no reports of injuries, oil discharge or sheening in the surrounding waters, according to the U.S. Coast Guard, whose inspectors are on scene to investigate the marine casualty incident.“We are looking to identify…

Singapore-based shipping company Pacific International Lines (PIL) will pay $3 million in fines after pleading guilty to felony dumping violations in Hagatna, Guam.The vessel operating company and two engineers were sentenced for illegally discharging oil and for maintaining false and incomplete records relating to the discharges of oily bilge water from the containership Kota Harum in 2019. PIL, chief engineer Maung Maung Soe, and second engineer Peng Luo Hai admitted that oily bilge water was illegally dumped from the Kota Harum directly into the ocean and into Apra Harbor, Guam without being properly processed through required pollution prevention equipment.

The U.S. Coast Guard said on Saturday it was responding to a report of a discharge of hydraulic oil from Coast Guard Cutter SPAR in Womens Bay, Kodiak, Alaska.Coast Guard said it was monitoring the cleanup which has been contracted to Choctaw Defense Services (CDS). Personnel on scene deployed boom systems, absorbent pads, and a skimmer that is pumping to a vac truck.Watchstanders at the Sector Anchorage Command Center received notification from the National Response Center at 9:40 a.m., that the crew of the cutter SPAR reported a hydraulic oil discharge.

The ongoing oil pollution incident from the grounded 203,000 DWT bulk carrier MV Wakashio is threatening an ecological catastrophe around the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius, endangering corals, fish and other marine life already under threat from climate change (IPCC 2018).In addition, it risks bringing devastating consequences for the economy, food security, health and tourism industry. Tourism in Mauritius - a popular destination for its pristine beaches - reportedly contributed about $1.6 billion to its economy during the last year…

Classification society ClassNK has released amendments to its Rules and Guidance for the Survey and Construction of Steel Ships.The 48 amendments were issued on 3June 30, including the following items:Regarding “Oil-lubricated Propeller Shafts Kind 1”, the notation requirements to affix “1C” to the classification characters of the ships fitted with oil-lubricated propeller shafts (Kind 1C), which have a reputation for being highly reliable by various means not only to prevent corrosion damage to stern tube bearings but also to facilitate general maintenance and management more easily…

The U.S. Coast Guard said on Sunday it is responding to a crude oil discharge in Rattle Snake Bayou, southwest of Port Sulphur, La.Coast Guard watchstanders in New Orleans received a report from the National Response Center that the well was reported to be leaking.It is unknown when the discharge began, and the amount discharged has not been determined. The well is rated to produce 5,476 gallons of oil per day.Responders are working to locate and secure the source of the discharge. The well's owner Hilcorp has contracted ES&H as an oil spill response organization.

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…

Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri delivered the newly constructed cruise ship MSC Seaview to owner MSC Cruises during a ceremony Monday in Monfalcone.Following fresh on the heels of sister ship MSC Seaside delivered last November, MSC Seaview is the second ship to be built by Fincantieri for MSC Cruises in six months.With a gross tonnage of over 153,000 tons and a length of 323 meters, MSC Seaview is the largest and most technologically advanced ship ever to be designed and built in Italy…

With just a few days to go until MSC Seaview comes into service, excitement is reaching an all-time high among cruise guests, travel agent partners, port officials and the broader industry. While a nearly 4000-strong team at the Fincantieri shipyard is working 24/7 around the clock to put the final touches and ready the ship for her inaugural season, MSC Cruises today revealed some of the key environment-friendly features on MSC Seaview, the third next-generation MSC Cruises ship to come into service in a matter of only 12 months. MSC Seaview will be one of the more innovative ships at sea, also when it comes to the environmental technology that she will feature.

Challenge Fisheries LLC, Quinn Fisheries Inc., Charles Quinn II, and Charles Quinn III have agreed to pay a total of $414,000 in civil penalties and to perform fleet-wide improvements and other compliance assurance measures to resolve federal Clean Water Act claims stemming from oily bilge discharges from the commercial fishing vessel Challenge, and a related fuel oil discharge in August 2017 in New Bedford Harbor, Mass., the Department of Justice and the Coast Guard announced.In its complaint filed Monday, along with the lodging of a consent decree in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, the United States alleges…

A Dutch flagged product tanker has reportedly discharged 2,600 gallons of heavy fuel oil into the Mississippi River near Norco, La., Monday. The cause of the spill is under investigation.The U.S. Coast Guard said it is responding to the incident after its watchstanders in New Orleans received a report of the oil discharge from the vessel Iver Exporter at approximately 1 a.m.The source of the discharge near mile marker 126 on the Lower Mississippi River is reported to be secured, and the 183-meter vessel is currently moored at the Shell Norco Manufacturing Complex.There are no waterway closures or restrictions due to the incident, and there are no reported injuries or impacts to wildlife.

A tanker vessel operator and master were convicted this week for maintaining false and incomplete records relating to the discharge of oil and garbage from an oil tanker that was operating off the coast of Texas. On Monday, operator Sea World Management & Trading Inc. and the master of tanker Sea Faith, Edmon Fajardo, pleaded guilty to two felony violations of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships for failing to accurately maintain the Sea Faith’s Oil Record Book and Garbage Record Book, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick and Acting Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey H. Wood. Both admitted that oil cargo residues and machinery…

U.S. Coast Guard and Maryland Department of the Environment personnel are investigating and overseeing cleanup of a lube oil discharge near Baltimore’s Inner Harbor Monday.   A National Response Center report was made Friday about a rainbow sheen in the harbor near Pier 6, which alerted Coast Guard and MDE pollution response personnel to investigate.   It is estimated that approximately 50 gallons of lube oil has discharged into the harbor through the Jones Falls outfall near the 2100 block of Falls Road. Hard boom and sorbent materials have been deployed and contractors are on scene recovering the product.   The source of the oil and responsible party have not yet been identified. The Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund is being used to pay for response efforts.

The Coast Guard, Texas General Land Office, and Bouchard Transportation representatives continue to respond Sunday to an oil discharge from a barge that caught fire and was extinguished on Friday three miles off the jetties of Port Aransas, Texas. Response efforts continue to minimize impact to the environment and the maritime community, which has enabled the Coast Guard to reopen the impacted ship channels. Discharge from the barge cargo tanks appears to have stopped following the removal of 2,500 barrels of oil-water mix from the barge through lightering operations. Lightering is currently suspended due to weather, but will resume with improvement in sea conditions. Containment boom remains in place around the vessel, though sheening from the barge and containment boom is present.

Lately, I have been reading reports regarding the United States Coast Guard’s (USCG) escalating enforcement of ballast water discharge violations. In the first case, the USCG initiated a civil penalty proceeding against a bulk carrier for discharging ballast water in Washington State without using a USCG Type Approved Ballast Water Management System (BWMS) or other approved means. The USCG proposed the maximum penalty of $38,175. In a more recent case, the USCG issued a $5,000 fine for a similar unauthorized ballast water discharge in Oregon.

The first of three new dual fuel RAstar 4000-DF class extreme escort tugs, the Dux, has been delivered to Østensjø Rederi AS by Spanish shipbuilder Astilleros Gondán S.A. Designed by Robert Allan Ltd., the 40.2 meter vessel is the first of a three boat order from Østensjø for severe weather operations at Statoil's Melkøya LNG Gas terminal at Hammerfest in the extreme north of Norway. These escort tugs will conduct approximately 300 LNG ship escorts annually, assist with berthing operations and will be maintained in readiness for emergency services such as long line towing…

The next critical area of consideration for the use of Environmentally Acceptable Lubricants is on deck. What’s leaking into the water from your cranes and winches? Vessel fleets face an increasing number of environmentally-focused regulations, adding complexity to their operations and creating urgency around compliance. These regulatory requirements, however, do not offset an operator’s need for products that perform consistently well. With the right Environmentally Acceptable Lubricants (EALs)…