Oil Spill News

Responders have called off a search for two fisherman missing following a fatal ship collision near Galveston, Texas, the U.S. Coast Guard said on Thursday.One crew member has been rescued, one is deceased and two remain missing at the conclusion of a three-day search involving the Coast Guard and local responders that covered more than 49 square miles by aerial flights, shore patrols and maritime searches.“It is never an easy decision to suspend a search," said Cmdr. Jordan Baldueza, Sector Houston-Galveston search and rescue mission coordinator.

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…

Work is underway to further develop Viet Nam’s national oil spill contingency plan at a workshop in Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam, this week (26-29 November).Forty participants from across 10 government departments and the oil and gas and shipping industry are taking part in the workshop, which is the latest in a series of International Maritime Organization (IMO)-assisted events on oil spill contingency in South-East Asia.Participants are being introduced to international good practices…

New system helping to solve garbage problems in rivers by collecting waste from water surface. SpillTech, aNorwegian company which specializes in oil spill recovery equipment and systems to collect waste in ports, is expanding its services to tackle waste pollution issues in rivers.“Many rivers are becoming increasingly polluted, so it is important to collect as much waste as possible and that is the reason why we have developed a new waste collector system,” reasoned Trond Lindheim…

An oil spill was contained at the Shell Puget Sound, Washington refinery's dock on Fidalgo Bay late on Friday, the company said in a statement on Saturday.The source of the crude spill was identified as a pressure relief valve on a barge and the source was secured, the company said, adding the spill volume was yet to be determined.About 20 gallons of oil was spilled when crews were transferring nearly five million gallons of oil from the barge to the refinery, local media reports said.Reporting by Sumita Layek

An estimate of 3,000 gallons of diesel fuel has been spilled as the result of a collision between an offshore supply vessel (OSV) and a tug near Port Arthur Texas, the U.S. Coast Guard said on Friday.The Coast Guard said it is responding to the incidenct after its watchstanders at Sector Houston-Galveston received a report of a collision involving the OSV Cheramie Botruc 22 and tug vessel Mariya Moran near the entrance to Sabine Pass, Texas, Thursday morning.Personnel from Coast Guard Station Sabine, Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Port Arthur, Texas General Land Office, Oil Spill Removal Organization, OMI Environmental Solutions and…

In one week Damen Shipyards Group has launched an FCS 3007 Patrol vessel and, in cooperation with the same owner, SR Platforms, successfully completed the sea trials of two FCS 4008 Patrol vessels. This brings the number of Damen ships in SR Platforms’ fleet up to four, following the delivery of its first FCS 3307 Patrol in October 2015.These milestones follow the contract signings taking place just a few months earlier, with those for the FCS 4008 vessels occurring in July this year and that for the FCS 3007 at the beginning of April.

The International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation (ITOPF) is currently on-site in north-east Brazil attending the recent oil spill that has contaminated approximately 2,500 km of coastline in nine states.The source of the pollution remains unknown, although the Brazilian government has recently reported that they suspect a tanker passing along its coast in late July as being the polluter."Our involvement was requested directly by IBAMA, the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources…

Brazilian investigators said on Friday a Greek-flagged ship carrying Venezuelan crude was the source of oil tarring thousands of kilometers of coastline over the past two months.While prosecutors and police did not name the vessel, a prosecutors' document obtained by Reuters identified the ship as the Bouboulina, owned by Greece's Delta Tankers Ltd. Police said the tanker appears to have spilled the crude about 700 km (420 miles) off Brazil's coast between July 28-29, bound for…

Brazil's federal police on Friday announced a potential breakthrough in the investigation into the causes of a mysterious oil spill that has baffled authorities and Brazilians for about two months.Police said they were investigating a Greek-flagged ship allegedly responsible for the oil spill, which they claim may have occurred about 700 km (420 miles) off the Brazilian coast between July 28-29 after the vessel made a stop in Venezuela.In a statement, federal police said they were carrying out search warrants at addresses linked to a company of Greek nationality.Brazilian authorities said they had also requested cooperation from international agencies…

The Regional Clean Sea Organization (RECSO), an oil industry co-operative organisation in the Middle East, has hosted First RECSO Enviro Spill Conference and Exhibition.In delivering the keynote speech at the opening ceremony, Abdulhakim A. Al-Gouhi, vice president of Industrial Services with Saudi Aramco, called on members to collaborate to protect the pristine Gulf environment through prevention, preparedness, and response.“We come together to demonstrate our unlimited commitment toward protecting the marine environment from any harmful effects of pollution…

Clean Arctic Alliance has welcome MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company's decision to avoid Arctic shipping route as a new short cut between northern Europe and Asia.Clean Arctic Alliance lead advisor Dr Sian Prior was responding to the announcement that shipping company MSC “will not explore or use the Northern Sea Route between Europe and Asia for container shipping” and that it believes that shipping lines should focus on reducing the environmental impact of existing shipping…

Japanese transportation major Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) announced that, along with Furuno Electric, it made a joint presentation of their advanced augmented reality (AR)-based Navigation System.The presentation introduced the background behind the technology and development of the system, as well as MOL’s efforts to "forge ahead to become the world leader in safe operation."The AR Navigation System provides visual support to crew-members during their watch-keeping and ship operations by using AR technology to superimpose real-time video imagery and voyage information.Large tankers…

The shareholders of the dry bulk shipping company based in Athens, Greece, DryShips,  voted in favor of the proposal to authorize and approve the previously announced agreement and plan of merger with SPII Holdings.SPII, a company controlled by DryShips’ chairman and CEO, George Economou, would acquire the outstanding shares of common stock, USD 0.01 par value, of the company that it does not already own for USD 5.25 per share in cash, without interest.In connection with the completion of the transaction…

Sea Machines Robotics CEO & President.Michael Gordon Johnson is a marine engineer, an accomplished entrepreneur and sector leader with a primary goal of building progressive and sustainable innovation for modern society. He is the founder of Sea Machines, a Boston-based tech company that is a leading provider of autonomous control and intelligent perception systems for marine vessels. Johnson earned a marine engineering degree from Texas A&M University before starting a career focused on complex projects in offshore oil and gas, marine transportation and salvage.

Maritime autonomous surface ship (“MASS”) technology continues to advance at a rapid pace around the globe. Although it’s not being embraced as quickly in the United States commercial market as other parts of the world, U.S. industry professionals and regulators look forward to continued development and implementation as a means to improve efficiency and safety.OpportunitiesThe U.S. Maritime Administration (“MARAD”) hosted “Achieving Critical MASS: Spotlight on the U.S. Vessel Automation Industry” July 22 and 23, 2019, encouraging discussion between U.S.

Supporting countries to prepare for contingencies is an important part of International Maritime Organization (IMO) 's capacity building work.Thailand is the latest country to benefit from IMO assistance to update its oil spill contingency plan at a National Workshop on National Contingency in Bangkok (24-27 September).Thirty-five participants from 15 government entities and oil and gas  companies learned about the latest international best practices, and developments, in the…

Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML): mention these two terms and the listener may instantly think of the ads displayed as you view your favorite online news site. This is one version of what AI/ML might be. Given the state of AI and ML research today, these advanced mathematical techniques represent something the U.S. Coast Guard should explore for mission application. To do this, common definitions need to be created, challenges understood, and practical use…

Two vessels with clean-up equipment and personnel will arrive to the Bahamas within a few days to deal with an oil spill at the South Riding Point terminal damaged by hurricane Dorian, operator Equinor said on Monday.The company reiterated there were no indications of ongoing leaks form tanks, as well as no indications that the oil spill was reaching nearby beaches or the ocean.(Reporting by Nerijus Adomaitis, editing by Gwladys Fouche)

NGO Shipbreaking Platform said that accident at the shipbreaking beach of Chattogram, Bangladesh killed two and severely injured thirteen. The accident occurred in the afternoon of Saturday 31 August at Ziri Subedar shipbreaking yard. During scrapping operations on the ship CSL VIRGINIA a heavy cable collapsed, hitting several workers at once. Aminul Islam, 35 years old, and Tushar Chakma, 27 years old, lost their lives.Thirteen workers  suffered severe injuries and were taken to Chattogram Medical College Hospital for treatment.

Developing and maintaining sound capability to respond effectively to marine pollution incidents involving oil, hazardous and noxious substances is a priority in the Caribbean, which is home to many vulnerable ecosystems.In response, the Curacao-based Regional Marine Pollution Emergency, Information and Training Center for the Caribbean (REMPEITC-Caribe) organized a trans-boundary oil spill response exercise in Suriname (27-28 August).The event brought together response managers…

As a part of its cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Transportation Maritime Administration (MARAD), Boston-based Sea Machines Robotics announces that it has successfully demonstrated its autonomous systems in action on board a Kvichak Marco skimmer boat during events held along the Portland harbor earlier today.Sea Machines’ technology opens a new era of capability for the marine industry, and today the company demonstrated its ability to increase the safety, productivity and predictability of response for marine oil-spill operations.

According to International Maritime Organization (IMO), one of the key elements in oil spill contingency planning is to define the communication channels to be used by cooperating parties when facing an incident.A workshop in Pulau Indah, Klang, Malaysia (19-21 August) has brought together officials from states in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), to help bring into operation the Regional Oil Spill Contingency Plan, which was adopted in 2018.Participants from nine countries got to grips with key elements of the plan and practiced communications between States…