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Oil spills: effects and management

When discussing maritime incidents involving oil, one should bear in mind that 99,8% of all transported oil volumes arrive safely at their destination. Furthermore, tanker incidents like the ones with ‘Exxon Valdez’, ‘Sea Empress’ and ‘Prestige’ attract huge media attention, while the daily operational discharges (MARPOL violations) are sometimes more harmful and more difficult to manage. Introduction Marine oil spills vary widely in size and in type of oil and therefore the effects, or threat to the marine environment and other vulnerable areas vary as well. The management of different oil spills will in general follow very similar procedures. However, management can sometimes be more difficult in a small slick than in a large incident. Ecological effects A coastal state that is prepared to respond to a maritime incident, will have a risk analysis and a contingency plan, that also identifies the sensitive areas. Seasonal effects with regard to presence of wildlife, taking into consideration migrating birds, have been studied and the data are converted into GIS maps. At least one oil drift model is available to advise the Response Team on the behaviour of the oil that is spilt into the marine environment. Therefore, in case of an incident, estimations can be made on the possible damaging effects in specific sea areas or coastal zones. Identifying the effects in time is important because the restoration starts soon after the beginning of the incident and is part of the response measures. Oil spill management In case of an incident, the source is easily identified and contact with the responsible can be established. Representatives, such as a P&I club will be assisting the authorities and the Fund provides advice and assistance. Information on the type of oil involved is available and quantities of spilt oil can be mathematically calculated. With all this information, the Response Team will make their strategic and operational response plan. However, there is more to oil spill management. Other measures that need to be taken include: