Oil Spill News

How to implement the Aktau Protocol on regional preparedness, response and cooperation in combating oil pollution incidents was the subject of a workshop in Baku, Azerbaijan this week (18-20 June). The event brought together the five littoral states (Azerbaijan, Islamic Republic of Iran, Kazakhstan, Russian Federation and Turkmenistan) of the Caspian Sea to test the Caspian Sea Plan concerning regional cooperation in dealing with oil pollution in cases of emergency, and guidelines on future regional oil spill exercises were developed.

The Odfjell tanker Bow Jubail struck a jetty at the Port of Rotterdam, rupturing her hull and releasing an estimated 220 tons of bunker fuel into the water. No injuries were reported, and she berthed without further incident. According to a Reuters report, a clean-up operation was underway after an oil freighter punctured its hull while mooring, releasing a “considerable” amount of heavy fuel oil. Odfjell, the owner of the freighter Bow Jubail, said in a statement the ship had lost 220 tons of heavy fuel oil in the incident, which took place Saturday afternoon.

Compagnie Maritime Monégasque (CMM) and Damen Shipyards Group (Damen) have joined forces to introduce a fast, safe and reliable Fast Marine Access crew change solution for the Brazilian market using a Damen FCS 7011. The solution looks to transfer personnel between shore and the ever more distant deep sea offshore platforms and flotels. The FCS 7011 focuses on increased safety, cost reduction and comfort, while offering a high speed solution to complement existing helicopter transfers.

National Response Corporation (NRC) has acquired SWS Environmental Services (SWS), significantly adding to its national footprint and expanding its full line of compliance and environmental services. Since 1974, SWS has been providing a broad range of essential services including industrial, hazardous waste management, emergency response, marine, and remediation services to the energy, manufacturing, education, healthcare, chemical, transportation, government, and retail sectors.

The shipping industry has long been criticised by campaigners for allowing vessels to be broken up on beaches, endangering workers and polluting the sea and sand. Now, it is being called to account from a quarter that may have a bit more clout - its financial backers. Norway's $1 trillion Oil Fund, a leader in ethical investing, in February sold its stake in four firms because they scrap on the beach. Three of the firms excluded by Norway's fund - Taiwan's Evergreen Marine, Precious Shipping and Thoresen Thai Agencies (TTA) of Thailand - say they have been unfairly singled out.

The U.S. Coast Guard said it is responding to reports of an oil spill near Breton Sound, La. in the Gulf of Mexico.Coast Guard Sector New Orleans watchstanders received a call at 6:29 p.m. on Thursday reporting a 61-foot motor vessel hitting the Breton Sound 18 production platform resulting in the spill of an estimated 840 gallons of crude oil from the platform.No injuries were reported.Environmental Safety & Health arrived on scene and deployed boom around the platform to mitigate the spread of product while platform personnel work to secure the source of the leak.The cause of the incident is under investigation.

Late last year, the Transportation Research Board released a major study that was undertaken “in response to the rapid development of domestic sources of energy and questions about the safest ways to move these products.” The Study Committee examined the operational responses of the three primary modes impacted by the fracking revolution – rail, pipeline and maritime. A primary observation of this work was that that the “Marine Transportation System Offers a Model for Robust Safety…

The salvage operations of the container vessel MV SSL Kolkata that had caught fire last month, is continuing in rough weather conditions with 2- 4 metre swells. The vessel is grounded at about 8 nautical miles off the ecologically sensitive Sundarbans since the 13th of last month when its cargo area had caught fire following an explosion. All 22 crew members were   rescued by the Indian Coast Guard. The Directorate General of Shipping and its allied office, Mercantile Marine Department, Kolkata, Govt.

DryShips announced that it has entered into agreements with unaffiliated buyers, for the sale of two of its older Panamax drybulk carriers, built in 2002. The diversified owner and operator of ocean going cargo vessels said that the sale took place for an aggregate gross sales price of $18.8 million. The vessels are scheduled for delivery to their buyers during the third quarter of 2018. The Company is a diversified owner and operator of ocean going cargo vessels that operate worldwide.

Four new escort tugs designed by Robert Allan Ltd. and constructed at the Triyards SSY facility in Saigon, Vietnam, by contract to Greenbay Marine Services Pte. of Singapore, have been delivered to owner Star Marine Ltd. of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.The four RAstar 3400 escort tugs, named Murjan 1, 2, 3, and 4, will be stationed in the Red Sea port of Rabigh, Saudi Arabia, and managed by Marine Services Co. Ltd.According to the designer, the RAstar 3400 escort/offshore terminal tug designation is reserved for a distinctive class of high-performance ASD tugs…

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…

Oil spill contingency planning is in the spotlight at an IMO regional workshop in Pulau Indah, Malaysia (2-6 July). The workshop is helping countries (ASEAN Member States: Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and Singapore.) in South East Asia become more familiar with the ASEAN Regional Oil Spill Contingency Plan - designed to enhance cooperation between States. Participants are reviewing a number of aspects of the plan and exercising its communication procedures.

The Port of Rotterdam Authority is to replace a section of the slopes stretching over more than 9 kilometres that have been contaminated by the Bow Jubail oil spill.The Port Authority announced earlier that the damage resulting from the oil spill is estimated at around 80 million euros. The Port Authority will recover this damage from Odfjell, owner of the leaking Bow Jubail.“We will do everything in our power to recover these damages. Society here cannot be left to pay for this…

International Maritime Organization (IMO) is supporting regional cooperation on oil and hazardous and noxious substances (HNS) spills in the Northwest Pacific region.IMO’s Roel Hoenders is taking part in meetings of the Marine Environmental Emergency Preparedness and Response Regional Activity Centre (MERRAC) taking place in Incheon, Republic of Korea (17-20 July).The Centre was originally established by IMO and UNEP to create effective cooperative measures to spill response under…

Responders are facing challenging monsoon season conditions as they work to salvage a containership that caught fire and grounded in the in the Bay of Bengal last month.The stricken containership SSL Kolkata remains aground in soft mud some 7.5 nautical miles off the Indian Sunderbans, Kolkata, West Bengal, after an explosion in one of the containers lit a fire on board the vessel on June 13.An oil spill response team from OSRL has arrived on scene and is the process of managing the counter pollution operations as responders battle challenging weather conditions…

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…

Significant moments in naval architecture & marine engineeringIn March 1989, oil tanker Exxon Valdez spilled 11 million gallons of crude oil after running aground in Alaska's Prince Williams Sound. The oil spill stood as the largest in U.S. history until the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.The Exxon Valdez incident, while certainly not a bright spot in maritime history, led to broad changes across the industry, including new design requirements for oil-carrying vessels.The October 2018 edition of Maritime Reporter & Engineering News…

After the recent oil spill disaster of the Bow Jubail in the Port of Rotterdam, Fleet Cleaner has stepped up to help the authorities with cleaning ship’s hulls which were fouled by the heavy fuel oil, in order to minimize the environmental impact. Within record time, Fleet Cleaner has transformed its installation to an oil spill response vessel; by installing specialized heating equipment, the high pressure water cleaning robot was made ready for high pressure steam cleaning.

Emerging spill response trends fit into two big categories: technology and a combination of economic and social forces. Both will shape what comes next.Florida’s stunning Tampa Bay stands out as exactly the kind of place where you have to think about hazardous materials emergencies. It was 25 years ago, on August 10, 1993, that a freighter collided with two barges near the entrance of Tampa Bay, causing a fire and spilling over 32,000 gallons of jet fuel, diesel, and gasoline and about 330,000 gallons of heavy fuel, devastating beaches, wildlife and habitat.

DryShips, a diversified owner and operator of ocean going cargo vessels, announced that it has agreed to acquire one 2013-built Newcastlemax drybulk carrier and one 2017-built Suezmax tanker, each constructed in China. The vessels will be acquired from entities that may be deemed to be affiliates of Mr. George Economou, the Company’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, for an aggregate purchase price of $93.8 million, including the associated bank debt of $50.3 million. The transaction remains subject to documentation and customary closing conditions, and is expected to close in June 2018.

John “Jack” J. Gallagher, a maritime industry veteran and environmental services pioneer, passed away on Monday at the age of 89.Jack’s greatest professional passion was his work as a Spill Manager/Qualified Individual, a role in which he had few peers. Jack was known to be fiercely committed to doing everything morally possible to protect his clients, while at the same time doing all within his power to protect the environment. He attended and helped shape the outcome of more maritime casualties and oil spills than can be remembered.Over the course of his long and fruitful career…

Congress enacted the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA 90) a mere 17 months after the disastrous oil spill following the grounding of the tanker Exxon Valdez in Prince William Sound. Among the many provisions in the voluminous bill was a detailed planning requirement. For the first time, tank vessels and facilities handling oil in bulk were required to develop extensive plans for responding to a worst case discharge of oil into waters of the United States. As regards vessels and marine-transportation-related facilities, the U.S.

Namibia has hosted of a series of events addressing oil spill preparedness and response, with two back to back workshops in Swakopmund (22-24 May and 28-31 May) developed with a view to improve the national preparedness and response system in the country. A first workshop was held to provide participants with an overview of the essential skills needed to prepare for and respond to oil spills at an operational level including contingency planning and risk assessment. The second event focused on shoreline response and clean-up management plan during an oil spill incident.