Risks of Oil Spill in the North Sea
The death and disappearance of 11 sailors from the Baltic Ace car-carrier after colliding with the container ship Corvus J in the North Sea will be followed by an oil spill. After the tragic human casualties will follow environmental damage. The Baltic Ace wreck contains several tons of propulsion fuel oil and diesel oil. Each of the 1417 cars transported contain around 5 liters of fuel.
A similar accident that happened 10 years ago off Dunkirk had provoked oil sheens around the wreck, 2 days after the sinking of the Tricolor car-carrier. Two months later the assessment of the oiled birds was 5,200 in the north of France, 12,000 in Belgium, and 2,000 in the Netherlands. The coasts of Belgium, Flanders, Calaisis, Boulonnais, the Somme Bay and Normandy have been polluted by hydrocarbons released by the wreck. The nuclear plants in Penly in Normandy and in Gravelines in the north of France have been placed on alert because of the risk of hydrocarbons arriving in the cooling waters.
Today, it would be prudent if the Borssele nuclear plant in the Netherlands adopted the same procedures.
Full tank of Risks off the Coast of Guyana
Shell, the black gold ogre loiters off the coast of Guyana. The drilling vessel Stena IceMax, just passed off the coast of Cap in South Africa and is making its way towards Guyana. The first of Shell’s four new exploratory oil drillings should begin June 19th on the other side of the South Atlantic. The dossier is still not complete; the decree from Guyana’s Prefect on the preliminary dispositions for work and the prevention of marine pollutions still has not been signed. There is cause for concern and to suspend the prefects signing.
Full tank of Risks off the Coast of Guyana
Shell, the black gold ogre loiters off the coast of Guyana. The drilling vessel Stena IceMax, just passed off the coast of Cap in South Africa and is making its way towards Guyana. The first of Shell’s four new exploratory oil drillings should begin June 19th on the other side of the South Atlantic. The dossier is still not complete; the decree from Guyana’s Prefect on the preliminary dispositions for work and the prevention of marine pollutions still has not been signed. There is cause for concern and to suspend the prefects signing.
New Zealand: Forewarning of the Big One
The grounding of the Rena in New Zealand
The grounding of the Rena on October 5th and the subsequent inability of the ship-owner and New Zealand maritime authority’s to free the vessel, to stop the fuel from leaking and to avoid the loss of containers foreshadow big future disasters in the field of container shipping.
In 1980 the largest container ships carried up to 2,000 containers, in 1991 up to 4,400, in 2003 the figure increased to 8,800 and in 2007 up to 14,500 containers. Starting from 2013, some container ships from the Danish company Maersk will be able to transport up to 18,000 containers. The “normal” crew size of 19 could further be reduced to 13. The container ships will measure 400 meters in length, 59 meters in width and the containers will be staked up to 73 meters in height. These new container ships will also carry 15,000 to 20,000 tons of bunker fuel however, the exact capacity is confidential. Insurers as well as Search and Rescue services, port stakeholders, maritime experts and some environmental NGOs are all concerned about this endless race to gigantic container ships.
