Oil Spillage News

Shoei Kisen, the Japanese owner of a containership stuck in the Suez Canal that is holding up potentially billions of dollars of traded goods, apologized on Thursday and added that it was working toward a resolution of the situation.It said getting the ship moving was “extremely difficult”, but that there were no injuries or oil spillage caused by it running aground.“We sincere apologize for causing a great deal of concern,” the company said in an English statement more than 24 hours after the grounding.It said there were 25 crew on board, all of them of Indian nationality.

A Singapore company has paid a NOK 7 million ($763,000) fine after it was caught trying to illegally export a barge carrier vessel from Norway for scrapping on the beaches in Pakistan, Norwegian authorities said.In 2017, inspectors from the Norwegian Maritime Authority (NMA) detained the Harrier, previously named Tide Carrier, when it suffered an engine failure and started to drift outside Jæren in Rogaland. Wirana Shipping Corporation, a company which buys discarded ships and sells them to scrap yards at beaches in India and Pakistan…

From the sinking of the Titanic to the current piracy phenomenon plaguing the world's oceans, Maritime challenges requires a conserted and collaborative global effort at maintaining safety of live and protection of property at sea.To this the Ghana Maritime Authority (GMA) collaborated with its global partners from the European Uninon Gulf of Guinea Interregional Network (EU-GoGIN), and the Inter-Regional Coordination Centre (ICC) and organized a four-day crisis response training for security experts and players in the maritime sector.Participants were drawn from the Ghana Maritime Authority, Ghana Army, Ghana Navy, Airforce, National Security, National Disaster Management Organisation and Ghana Immigration Service.

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) continues to coordinate the containment and clean-up efforts of the oil spillage in Singapore’s waters following the collision of container vessels Wan Hai 301 and APL Denver. As of 5 January 2016, a total of 17 vessels and 222 personnel have been deployed. Progress of the clean-up is being made along the western coastlines of Pulau Ubin (OBS Jetty) and Nenas Channel. Some patches of oil were spotted off CAFHI Jetty and also along the shorelines of Pasir Ris Beach, Changi Point Ferry Terminal, Changi Sailing Club and Changi Beach in the early hours of the morning. Contractors were deployed to clean up the affected shorelines.

At about 2350 hrs on 3rd January 2017, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) was notified by the Johor Port Authority (JPA) of a collision between Singapore-registered container vessel WAN HAI 301 and a Gibraltar-registered container vessel APL DENVER off Pasir Gudang Port, Johor Malaysia. The Master of APL DENVER reported that one of her bunker tanks sustained damage resulting in approximately 300 tonnes of oil spillage. JPA has deployed four anti-pollution craft on site and an oil boom around APL DENVER to contain the oil spill. In Singapore, some oil patches were spotted and the spillage has been contained off the western side of Pulau Ubin. MPA has activated a total of eight anti-pollution craft with dispersant spraying capabilities to clean up the spilled oil.

A runaway container vessel which was involved in a hit and run accident with two other vessels was seized by the Malaysia Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) DM 7 Tanjung Sedili District in the waters of Tanjung Ramunia. The accident, which took place in the evening Feb 18 in Singapore Strait off Batu Ayam, Malaysia. Tankers TINA 7 and STRAITS 3 were anchored some 2.7 nm off the coast, when passing MV OLF hit them both, inflicting damages. The 40,000 dwt  MV OLF didn’t stop or contacted damaged ships, and sailed away. Vessel is en route from Hong Kong to India with 16 crew, comprising of Indian and Sri Lanka nationalities. The Olf was under way from Hong Kong to India at the time of the allision…

An oil tanker and a bulk carrier collided off Singapore on Friday causing some crude oil spillage, the Maritime Port Authority said. A Libyan-registered oil tanker Alyarmouk collided with the Singapore-registered bulk carrier Sinar Kapuas about 11 nautical miles north-east of Pedra Branca, east of Singapore. There was no report of injury and traffic in the port and the Strait of Singapore was unaffected, the authority said in a statement. The charterer of the oil tanker and volume of spillage were not immediately clear, MPA said in a telephone call. According to Reuters' shiptracking tool, Alyarmouk was en route to Yangpu, China, while Sinar Kapuas's current position was not traceable. The two vessels are currently safely anchored and in stable condition.

Grave concerns on safe navigation through Straits of Malacca and Singapore. The Malacca and Singapore Straits is a strategic gateway in world trade and one of the world’s busiest waterways. On any given day, over 140 ships – such very large oil tankers, container ships, bulk carriers and cruise liners, ply through the Straits; not forgetting the smaller crafts like passenger ferries, tugs and barges making frequent cross-Straits voyages in the littoral states of Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia. During the past week, acrid haze originating from forest fires in Sumatra, Indonesia has blanketed the region, including the southern Straits, southern peninsular Malaysia and the island of Singapore.

Make no mistake about it: the Arctic is open for business. The cumulative environmental footprint of oil exploration outfits, merchant shipping, mining, eco-tourism and the cruise ship trades is thus far minor, but the potential for an exponential increase in commerce – especially if the climate trends now affecting the region continue – is seemingly limitless. For the maritime industry, the down side to this is as big as the most promising business opportunity to come along in decades. The utility of a Northern Sea Route that follows the Siberian coastline, producing impressive time and fuel savings, a reduced emissions footprint, and elimination of canal transit fees for shippers moving goods between Europe and Asia has already been proven.

BMT Group Ltd, the international design, engineering and risk management consultancy, announced today that it has achieved strong financial results, despite a difficult year for the global economy and the maritime industry in particular. A turnover of £142m provided the group with an underlying operating profit of £11m in the year to 30 September 2010, £5.8m of which has been distributed to the staff through the company’s profit share schemes. Comprising 23 subsidiary companies…

With TBT paints on the endangered list due to environmental concerns, shipowners must find an alternative method to keep ships coated and efficiently clean. Jotun believes it has the answer. Bringing her first cargo to Europe following completion by Samsung Heavy Industries, the 306,000-dwt British Pioneer has given new expression to environmental-consciousness in the crude oil transportation sector. While the security of her 2.1-million barrel cargo containment has been enhanced by the compulsory double hulling, the non-mandatory continuation of the double shell aft better safeguards the bunker spaces, reducing the risk of fuel oil spillage in the event of the aftship being breached.

It was reported that militant youths in Nigeria's Niger Delta are holding 12 Royal Dutch/Shell workers hostage, to press for compensation for an oil spill in their area. Shell officials in Lagos said they were not aware of the kidnapping, which the youths said was to forced the oil company pay $1.5 million compensation for a 1989 oil spillage. Sources said the oil workers, mainly Nigerians, were seized by youths from Arhavwarien community in Ugheli South Local Council in southern Delta State, on their way to effect repairs of a leaking pipeline in a neighboring village. Residents demanding a greater share of Niger Delta region's oil wealth frequently sabotage or kidnap oil workers to try to win payments from oil firms.

Shell is considering a self-imposed ban on single-hulled tankers for cargoes coming through the Bosphorus from the Black Sea. "They're considering demanding double-hulls on any tankers they charter for their cargoes through the Bosphorus," said one London broker. Brokers said that although Shell had a limited presence in the Black Sea, it was expected to expand in coming years. They said BP Amoco, Chevron and TotalFina all had a major presence there. Collisions and shipwrecks are not uncommon in the Bosphorus, a narrow passage winding through Turkey's largest city Istambul and on which commercial vessels are guaranteed free passage during peacetime under the 1936 Montreux Treaty.

A German-registered tanker ran aground on the Danube, spilling several hundred liters of heating oil into the river, Austrian shipping police said on Monday. The accident happened late on Sunday near the Lower Austrian town of Krems, 62 miles west of Vienna. Initial estimates that some 25,000 liters (5,499 Imp gallons) had leaked were exaggerated, said the Melk shipping police. The oil spillage had been contained and there was no immediate threat to the environment, the police added. The tanker had been transporting 1.7 million liters (373,900 Imp gallons) of heating oil.

The USCG has issued its Regulatory Assessment: Use of Tugs to Protect Against Oil Spills in the Puget Sound Area. The assessment focuses on the risk of underway accidents leading to large oil spills involving cargo oils from tankers and tank barges, and bunker fuels from commercial vessels of 300 gross tons or greater. The primary geographic focus of the study is the Strait of Juan de Fuca and coastal waters within a 60 nautical mile radius of the entrance to the Strait. Assess the impact of risk management alternatives on small business. Eight alternatives for preventing and mitigating oil spills in the study region were evaluated, including the Internation Tug of Opportunity System (ITOS)…

Bringing her first cargo to Europe following completion by Samsung Heavy Industries, the 306,000-dwt British Pioneer has given new expression to environmental-consciousness in the crude oil transportation sector. While the security of her 2.1-million barrel cargo containment has been enhanced by the compulsory double hulling, the non-mandatory continuation of the double shell aft better safeguards the bunker spaces, reducing the risk of fuel oil spillage in the event of the aftship being breached. In addition, her potential impact on marine life has been lessened through the adoption of a newly unveiled, tin-free antifouling. Although it currently comes at a very substantial price-per-liter premium…