Oil Spill News

Greece-based dry bulk shipping company DryShips Inc said announced it has received a non-binding offer letter from SPII Holdings, which proposes a transaction pursuant to which the Company would be merged into a subsidiary of SPII Holdings.SPII Holdings is controlled by DryShips' Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, George Economou.The board of directors of the diversified owner and operator of ocean going cargo vessels has formed a special committee consisting solely of disinterested directors to consider the proposal.As of June 13…

International Maritime Organization (IMO)-supported 4th edition of the Adriatic Oil Spill Conference (ADRIASPILLCON 2019), was held in Opatija, Croatia (28-30 May)."Planning for any marine pollution incident requires ongoing communication, collaboration and cooperation. Regional and sub-regional contingency planning is an effective way to share resources and expertise," said the UN body in a press release.The Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Response Centre for the Mediterranean Sea (REMPEC)…

Planning for any marine pollution incident requires ongoing communication, collaboration and cooperation, points out the International Maritime Organization (IMO).Regional and sub-regional contingency planning is an effective way to share resources and expertise. This was in evidence at the IMO-supported 4th edition of the Adriatic Oil Spill Conference (ADRIASPILLCON 2019), held in Opatija, Croatia (28-30 May), said the UN body.Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Response Centre for the Mediterranean Sea (REMPEC)…

Discussions on oil pollution prevention, preparedness and response took centre stage this week (20-24 May) at the latest edition of Spillcon 2019 in Perth, Australia.The forum included sessions on cause and prevention, response management and environmental issues.A raft of high calibre national and international speakers addressed the conference on their particular areas of expertise. However, this year, the audience also invited 12 to 15 years olds to join the event to learn more about issues related to environmental protection, oil and chemical pollution, preparedness and response.

A remediation programme to protect island ecosystems from damage caused by oil pollution from World War II wrecks sunk in the Pacific Ocean will launch in Newcastle Harbour today (Thursday 23 May).The programme is the result of a partnership between Major Projects Foundation, the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) – an intergovernmental Pacific regional organisation made up of 26 members – and the University of Newcastle. It will see expert teams of scientists…

Equinor has resumed crude oil loadings from its Statfjord field in the North Sea following a spill last week, the Norwegian oil and gas company said on Monday.Production from Statfjord remains unaffected, and the offloading of crude is now taking place from an alternative buoy on the field, it added.The company was still investigating the source of the oil spill that was detected on the sea surface on May 15, prompting shutdown of loadings to a shuttle tanker, a spokesman said.(Reporting by Nerijus Adomaitis, editing by Terje Solsvik)

Equinor has still not identified the source of an oil spill at its Statfjord field in the North Sea, and the loading of crude onto tankers remains shut, the Norwegian company told Reuters on Thursday.The leakage consisted of "small observations" of oil on the surface of the ocean, an Equinor spokesman said.The leakage of crude was first discovered on Wednesday, triggering a shutdown of loading on to a shuttle tanker, although production continued, Equinor said at the time.Statfjord, which opened in 1979, is among the oldest fields still producing in the North Sea, and Equinor has said the firs

An unspecified amount of oil was observed on the sea surface early Wednesday morning in connection with loading oil from buoy to shuttle tanker on the North Sea Statfjord field, Equinor announced.The loading operations were stopped when this was discovered, and the loading systems were shut down, the Norwegian energy company said.Efforts to map the extent of the oil observed on the sea surface are underway, Equinor added.Equinor said its emergency response organization has been mobilized…

Saudi Arabia said on Monday that two of its oil tankers were among those attacked off the coast of the United Arab Emirates and said it was an attempt to undermine the security of crude supplies amid tensions between the United States and Iran.The UAE said on Sunday that four commercial vessels were sabotaged near Fujairah emirate, one of the world's largest bunkering hubs lying just outside the Strait of Hormuz, but did not describe the nature of the attack or say who was behind it.The UAE had not given the nationalities or other details about the ownership of the four vessels.

HudsonAnalytix, announced that Admiral Thad Allen, U.S. Coast Guard retired, has joined their operation as a Senior Executive Advisor.Admiral Allen served as the 23rd Commandant of the Coast Guard from 2006 to 2010. He will be focusing on risk management for the global maritime transportation sector served by Hudson. Focus areas include regulatory and policy issues, crisis response and disaster management, environmental compliance, and cyber risk to shipping, ports, and supply chains.

Norway is growing its arsenal of military grade drones for missions that’ll take them into the exhaust streams of ship’s funnels. With the IMO now supporting the 0.1 percent sulfur cap on marine fuel from Jan. 2020, and with southern Norway below the 62nd parallel officially a European Emissions Control Area, or ECA, the Norwegian Maritime Authority, the NMA, is cracking down on illegal sulfur emissions.Oslo’s NMA and its domestic enforcement allies — the Norwegian Coast Guard (Kystvakten)…

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has been granted observer status at the Arctic Council.According to the UN body, this will allow IMO to build on previous cooperation with the Arctic Council and engage in close collaboration on a range issues related to shipping in the Arctic, in particular, search and rescue, pollution response and maritime safety and protection of the marine environment.IMO has adopted the  Polar Code, which provides mandatory requirements for ships operating in the harsh environment of the Polar regions…

Greece-based dry bulk shipping company DryShips Inc announced that it has agreed to acquire from an entity that may be deemed to be beneficially owned by its Chairman and CEO, George Economou, one Newcastlemax drybulk carrier built in 2017, for a purchase price of approximately $50.0 million. The purchase price was based on the average fair market value of the vessel, as determined by independent third party broker valuations, and the transaction was unanimously approved by the…

Increased commercial and oil activity in Liberia's territorial waters has seen the number of tankers and other ships supporting the oil activities, rise significantly.These activities are critical to the Liberian economy but pose a risk in the event of an oil spill, said a press release from International Maritime Organization (IMO).To address this issue, the Global Initiative for West, Central and Southern Africa (GI WACAF) has organized a workshop in Monrovia, Liberia (29 April…

The global Oil Spill Dispersant Market is anticipated to grow at a constant CAGR around 3% during the forecast period 2019 to 2026 and reach the market value around USD 23.6 billion.The growth of the market for oil spillers depends directly on the frequency, the time and volume of petroleum spill events, said a market report by Acumen Research and Consulting.Oil pollution is a common term for seawater, land water or land contamination due to oil release due to an accident or human error. Oil contamination is spread throughout the world and is boiled both onshore and offshore.

Work is ongoing to contain a “large oil spill” that contaminated waters in Port of Sines, Portugal late on Thursday night during a routine refuelling operation.MSC Sandra Panama-flagged container ship, operated by Swiss Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) has reported leakage of marine fuel oil while bunkering in the Sines harbour late on 4 April."The authorities were immediately informed and action was swiftly taken to minimize the environmental impact of the incident. We understand that removal of the oil from the water has progressed at a good pace…

Owners of offshore support vessels (OSV) are beginning to examine the possibility of reactivating some of their fleet even as the consistent volatility of oil prices and a healthy stream of ships projected from global shipyards keeps their enthusiasm in check.According to Clarksons, demand for the versatile ships, which support offshore exploration and production activities around the world, edged up 3% in 2018, with marginally higher day rates tempting some units out of lay-up.Most of the idle OSV fleet is unlikely to become active this year…

The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) is warning people in the waters off the Rockaways to stay away from any tar balls or oil sheens they might see and is investigating to see if they're related to an oil leak from a vessel a few days ago.USCG, along with partner agencies, are responding to reports of oil sheen and tar balls, on the ocean side of Coney Island and Long Island, from Norton Point to Atlantic Beach.Members of the Unified Command for Goethals Oil Spill continue responding to…

A containership has reportedly leaked fuel oil into the Arthur Kill waterway near Staten Island, N.Y., the U.S. Coast Guard said.The Coast Guard said it is working alongside partner agencies to respond to the spill, which occurred while the vessel was moored at the Global Marine New York Container Terminal on Thursday afternoon. The amount of fuel spilled is currently unknown, and the cause of the spill is under investigation, the Coast Guard said.A Unified Command has been established on scene to coordinate cleanup efforts. Containment boom has been placed around the vessel and there are multiple oil spill response vessels actively…

Robert Allan Ltd (RAL) has been selected as the designer of new icebreaking tugs for Alfons Hakans, a major tugboat owner and operator in Finland.The collaboration between Alfons Hakans, with extensive practical experience in harbor tug operations and icebreaking, and Robert Allan Ltd., with its long history of icebreaking vessel and compact icebreaker-tug designs, resulted in the development of a unique, high-performance vessel.These new tugs will be specifically designed for…

Increased maritime traffic as well as offshore oil and gas industries in west and central Africa means more risks of oil spill in the region, pointed out International Maritime Organization (IMO).To strengthen the capability for preparedness and response of a potential oil spill, a workshop underwent in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire (18-21 March).The event aimed to help participants with to ratify and effectively implement IMO conventions relating to oil pollution and liability and compensation, said the UN Body.Participants were trained on how to best transpose IMO treaties into domestic laws.

Guyana is the latest country to benefit from International Maritime Organization (IMO)’s continuing work to strengthen oil spill response capacity in the Wider Caribbean Region.According to the UN body, Guyanese officials from 28 different government agencies, environmental stakeholders, and local industry representatives took part in the Regional Marine Pollution Emergency, Information and Training Centre for the Caribbean (REMPEITC)-Caribe training workshop (18-20 March) funded…

GAC Marine’s branch in Turkmenistan has been awarded two contracts by Petronas Carigali, a subsidiary of Petronas, to provide marine services for its development of the Garagol Deniz West (GDW) oil field.The service provider of full marine transportation to the offshore industry said in a press release that it will supply three anchor-handling vessels manned by experienced crew and kitted out with specialist onboard equipment to provide critical 24-hour support for the drilling…