Pollution

Citation

(2001), "Pollution", Disaster Prevention and Management, Vol. 10 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/dpm.2001.07310eac.002

Pollution

Pollution

26 March 2001 – Amorgos (Greece)

A task force set up by the central government vowed today to totally clean up the remaining pollutants on board wrecked m bulk carrier Amorgos. The ad hoc group, led by Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) director Hau Lung-ping, made the decision during its first-ever meeting. The task force was formed in February to take charge of the serious ore and oil pollution near Kenting National Park caused by the vessel. According to Hau, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications will offer a public bid to dismantle Amorgos later this month, and all the ore and oil still stored on board the vessel will be removed in late May. He also pointed out that Amorgos will also be removed to a designated site and that the owner of the vessel has agreed to pay the expenses of the operation. Hau pledged that the EPA will take legal action against the ship owners if the bidding process does not go smoothly.

29 March 2001 – Baltic Carrier (Marshall Islands)

M bulk carrier Tern (20,362gt, built 1973) Cuba, for Ventspils, was in collision with m chemical tanker Baltic Carrier (23,257gt, built 2000) Estonia, for Newport, in latitude 548 43N, longitude 128 34E, at 22.10, UTC, yesterday. Tern hit Baltic Carrier on her starboard side. Baltic Carrier sustained 20m² hole and leaked about 1,900 tonnes of heavy fuel oil; she is also listing 108. Four environmental vessels have been dispatched and are due on the scene in about an hour from now. Tern has proceeded to Rostock roads, where anchored. Baltic Carrier anchored in Danish waters for inspection. Her owners have dispatched a tug from Kiel, with divers etc. to assess the damages.

Up to 1,500 tonnes of oil has been leaked into the Baltic Sea between Germany and Denmark following a collision between m chemical tanker Baltic Carrier and m bulk carrier Tern. The tanker was on her way to Gothenburg, carrying a cargo of 30,000 tonnes of heavy heating oil from Estonia, when she collided with the bulk carrier which was carrying a cargo of sugar from Cuba to Latvia. The spilled oil is reported to have broken up into several slicks. Danish coastguards say six ships from Denmark, Germany and Sweden are on their way to try to contain the oil from being blown towards the southern Danish islands of Falster and Moen. Gale force winds are likely to make the clean-up operation difficult.

Denmark was yesterday facing its worst oil spill in more than 20 years after steering failed on year-old m oil chemical tanker Baltic Carrier in a narrow shipping channel and she collided with m bulk carrier Tern. Efforts to contain up to 1,900 tonnes of marine fuel from Baltic Carrier were hampered by rough seas and gale force winds which blew the slick toward a rocky stretch of the Danish coastline. Waves of more than 4m, made it hard for specialist vessels – four from Denmark, one from Sweden and two from Germany – to recover the oil, which Danish officials said was fast sinking. Danish maritime authorities were yesterday remaining tight-lipped as to the cause of the casualty. But a spokesman for Interorient Navigation, owner of Baltic Carrier, said last night: "I can confirm that there was a steering problem (on the tanker) and that this is now under investigation". No further details were available. The collision punctured the tanker's No. 6 starboard tank, which was holding 3,300 tonnes of oil, and two adjacent ballast tanks. Navy spokesman estimated that up to 1,900 tonnes of oil was released from the damaged tanker, but some of this may have ended up between the vessel's twin hulls. The tanker, carrying 33,000 tonnes of oil, was ballasted to a 58 list to stop further leakage. Both vessels were yesterday in a stable condition and no injuries were reported as a result of the collision. Captain Bardakos, manager of Tern's Greek ship management company, Piraeus-based Ranger Marine, said the bulk carrier was off Rostock awaiting inspectors from her classification society, American Bureau of Shipping. Interorient Navigation was yesterday talking to Wijsmuller Salvage regarding the salvage operation. A team from Wijsmuller was on its way to the damaged vessel, anchored 15 miles off the north German coast, yesterday afternoon. M bulk carrier Tern has proceeded to Rostock roads, where she has anchored.

Oil which spilled into the sea after a collision between m oil/chemical tanker Baltic Carrier and Tern has washed up on the coast of a Danish island amid desperate efforts to avert an environmental disaster. Vessels from Germany and Sweden have joined Danish vessels in attempting to contain the spill. But Karsten Lose, of Stubbekobing police, said the operation was called off this afternoon because of high winds and heavy seas. Around 60 people then attempted to set up floating barriers to try to prevent a huge oil slick. measuring around 150m², from reaching rocky beaches. Strong winds of around 70km per hour later broke the oil into dozens of smaller patches that were blown towards the Danish islands of Moen and Falster. "Some minor portions have been found" on the island of Falster, Lose said. He added that the winds had pushed larger slicks into the narrow stretch of water between the two islands.

30 March 2000 – According to the owners of m oil/chemical tanker Baltic Carrier, she was on voyage from Muuga at the time of the collision with m bulk carrier Tern. She was heading for Gothenburg to bunker after which she was due to proceed to the UK to discharge her cargo.

Oil recovery between Falster and Sjaelland ongoing, five ships on scene. A team of 80 cleaning on shore.

31 March 2001 – Clean-up vessels collected tons of spilled oil in the Baltic Sea today as they tried to keep the sticky sludge from reaching a bird sanctuary in Denmark. It is like asphalt, like tar, said police Sgt Klaus Lose. Officials said the clean-up was aided by calm, clear weather. About 764,000 gallons spilled from the m oil/chemical tanker Baltic Carrier. Goopy oil paste covered at least 12 miles of coastline and killed more than 200 birds. On Friday (30 March), hunters shot ducks, heron and other fowl that were coated in oil and beyond rescue. Environmental protection vessels from Denmark, Sweden and Germany used machines to suck up oil that had not reached shore. Smaller slicks simply sank. Defence Minister Ian Troejborg toured the area today and said the main problem was reaching the area's rocky coastline with heavy equipment. The biggest slick drifted into the narrow Groensund Strait, between the islands of Moen, Faroe and Falster. By this afternoon, up to 10 percent of the oil in the strait had been collected but the slick had reached the entrance of a fjord that is a bird sanctuary and home to about 10,000 birds. The spill could affect as many as 2,000 birds, including eider ducks, long-tailed ducks and goosanders, said Knud Flensted of the Danish Ornithological Society. The cause of the accident was still unclear. Danish maritime authorities were expected to release a preliminary report later today. After the accident, the Baltic Carrier was anchored and the leak stopped. The m bulk carrier Tern continued on to northern Germany, while Baltic Carrier moved six miles away, away from the traffic lane, Tony Redding, a spokesman for Interorient Navigation, the Hamburg, Germany-based company that owns the Baltic Carrier, said. He said that the remaining oil would be transferred to another vessel on Monday.

1 April 2001 – Nearly half of the oil which spilled into the Baltic Sea and soiled Danish beaches after a tanker collision has been scooped up, officials said today. M bulk carrier Tern and m oil/chemical tanker Baltic Carrier were in collision on Wednesday (28 March) off south-eastern Denmark, sending some 764,000 gallons of the tanker's total cargo of 9.7 million gallons into the sea. Clean-up crews have been aided by good weather along the coast, said Joergen Holst Hansen, a representative of the Danish Emergency Management Agency. The slick soiled more than 12 miles of coastline and has killed more than 700 birds. Crews were scrambling to keep the slick from reaching a bird sanctuary which is home to 10,000 birds in the Fane Fjord on the southern coast of Moen island. More than 200 people joined clean-up efforts on the coasts of the islands Moen, Bogoe, Faroe and Falster, officials said. A similar number worked from the sea to contain and pump the oil. Clean-up is expected to be finished within a week. "We believe that the remaining oil in the Baltic Sea has sunk and is out of our reach", said police Sgt Klaus Lose from the town of Stubbekoebing, 70 miles south of Copenhagen. He said small slicks were probably floating around and would eventually dissipate over the next few weeks. The rest of the oil from Baltic Carrier was to be transferred to another vessel tomorrow. A preliminary report issued yesterday by the Danish Maritime Authorities said Baltic Carrier may have had a steering problem. A spokesman for the Germany-based company which owns the vessel agreed but declined to say whether technical problems played a role. Crew on the bridge of Tern told investigators they could not avoid hitting the tanker.

2 April 2001 – Interorient Navigation has confirmed that m oil/chemical tanker Baltic Carrier experienced rudder failure before colliding with m bulk carrier Tern in the Baltic Sea last Wednesday (28 March). The vessel lost steering control in a narrow shipping channel between Denmark and Germany and collided with Tern. The resulting oil slick, despite being less significant than first anticipated, was described by Danish maritime authorities as the worst in Denmark's recent history. Baltic Carrier yesterday moved under her own power to a position five miles north of where the incident took place, and vessel-to-vessel transfer of the cargo is due to begin today. The casualty prompted calls from the European Commission for tighter controls on shipping in the region. Captain Bardakos, head of Tern's manager, the Piraeus-based Ranger Marine, said the disabled tanker had crossed Tern's path. "The channel was very narrow and there was no space to manoeuvre the vessel", he said. "Tern's master said the master of the Baltic Carrier admitted immediately that he had problems with his rudder", he added. The vessels' final movements are the focus of the investigation into the collision. Danish islands were dotted with small oil slicks on Friday. However, authorities were optimistic about containing most of the leaked fuel, despite earlier fears that the casualty would result in environmental disaster. An underwater inspection on Friday morning established that some 2,700 tonnes of marine fuel was lost from Baltic Carrier following the collision. The vessel was carrying 33,000 tonnes of oil at the time of the incident. M tanker Tervi has been chartered to handle the vessel-to-vessel transfer. Once the operation is completed, Baltic Carrier 58 will sail to an as yet unnamed shipyard for repairs. Tern was anchored off Rostock on Friday.

3 April 2001 – The operation to pump a cargo of marine fuel from m oil/chemical tanker Baltic Carrier was set to start last night, as experts pondered why a vessel in her first year of service lost rudder control shortly before colliding with m bulk carrier Tern last Thursday (29 March). The collision, in a narrow shipping channel between Germany and Denmark, resulted in the worst pollution incident which Danish authorities have had to face in recent history. The Baltic Carrier lost steering control after her rudder failed and reportedly crossed in front of Tern. The master of the Tern said evasive action had proved impossible. Investigations are now under way to establish what caused the rudder failure. Efforts to transfer the remaining cargo on board Baltic Carrier to m tanker Tervi were due to start last night. A spokesman for Interorient Navigation said the operation should be completed by tomorrow. Although much of the spilt oil was recovered and the impact of the slicks was less than originally anticipated, stretches of Denmark's coastline were tarred and about 1,000 birds found dead or covered in oil. The European Commission sent three experts from its task force on marine pollution to help with the Danish clean-up operation.

3 April 2001 – Following received from the German-based managers of m oil/chemical tanker Baltic Carrier, dated today: Lightening of the vessel began last night and is expected to last until tomorrow night. Vessel is currently five miles north of the casualty scene. Vessel still has fuel on board and she is expected to proceed to an unnamed shipyard after lightening is completed.

4 April 2001 – The transfer operation to remove the remaining oil from m oil/chemical tanker Baltic Carrier is still ongoing.

5 April 2001 – Denmark has officially blamed the collision off its coast between m oil/chemical tanker Baltic Carrier and m bulk carrier Tern on 28 March on a technical fault in the steering mechanism of one of the vessels. The Danish Maritime Authority said in its preliminary report that the findings of its investigation would be analysed and studied before a fuller report is issued later in a few weeks time. Some 900 tonnes of oil has been collected from the sea, about half of the total spillage. The report said Baltic Carrier and Tern approached each other in the Kadet Channel on 28 March, and the intention was to pass each other port-to-port at a suitable distance. However, shortly before they were to pass, the steering on Baltic Carrier failed, causing her to change course and pull in front of Tern. The authority said the reason why Baltic Carrier's steering failed was not yet clear but for the time being must be regarded as a technical fault in the steering system. Tern struck Baltic Carrier on her starboard side and penetrated tank No. 6, which contained around 2,700 tonnes of fuel oil. The transfer of oil from Baltic Carrier was expected to be completed this evening and a decision on the port of repair will be made before the cleaning of the tanks has been completed. Around 2,000 birds are thought to have been killed and many more injured. The authority said Tern sustained severe damage at her front end, with a tank being holed and fuel oil from Baltic Carrier spilling in. Inspection by divers will reveal the full extent of the damage, after which the classification society will decide what needs to be done.

5 April 2001 – Following received from the German-based managers of m oil/chemical tanker Baltic Carrier: Lightering operations are now complete. Vessel is still at anchor five miles north of the casualty scene. Bad weather is preventing further cleaning of the vessel. Vessel should be ready for towing with the next 24 hours.

7 April 2001 – Around 3,000 birds have perished in the oil slick that has caused extensive pollution along Denmark's south-east coast, clean-up official Karsten Bjerre said. He said the birds included swans, ducks, seagulls and moorhens. Around 2,700 tonnes of oil seeped out of m chemical tanker Baltic Carrier following a collision last week. Bjerre said around 2,600 tonnes of oil mixed with sand and stones had been scooped up from the sea and the shore. "The 2,600 tonnes probably includes 2,200 tonnes of pure oil", he said. He added that 300 to 400 tonnes of oil were still being collected from land to the south of Bogoe, known as Denmark's "green island", and along the sea wall leading to the neighbouring island of Moen. The hold of the Baltic Carrier was emptied late on Wednesday (4 April) but weather conditions, including strong winds and waves of up to 3m, had hampered an operation to close the breach in its side that occurred during the collision, Bjerre said.

9 April 2001 – M oil/chemical tanker Baltic Carrier was yesterday being towed to Szczecin, the coast guard office at Stralsund report. The vessel is expected to arrive early today.

10 April 2001 - M oil/chemical tanker Baltic Carrier has reached the port of Swinoujscie for repairs, a shipyard spokesman said today. The spokesman said that repairs would commence this week and take over one month to complete.

16 April 2001 - The Hyundai shipyard risks liability over the collision between m bulk carrier Tern and m oil/chemical tanker Baltic Carrier off the coast of Denmark on 28 March which resulted in a devastating oil spill. Some estimates put the oil spillage into the sea at 2,700 tonnes, making it one of the biggest Danish oil pollution incidents in modern times. Reports say engineers from Hyundai have been brought in on the investigation into exactly why the two vessels collided. An initial report from the Danish Maritime Authority (DMA) said the collision occurred after the steering on the Baltic Carrier had failed, causing her to change course and pull in front of the Tern. As the Baltic Carrier was built in 2000, the vessel is still under the yard's guarantee, according to one report in the Danish media. The Danish Maritime Authority says the reason why the steering failed is not yet clear but for the time being must be regarded as a technical fault in the steering system. The crew of the Baltic Carrier has said, according to the report, that the vessel had problems with her rudder. She is now docked at Swinoujscie for repairs. The report quoted a spokesman for Hyundai as saying that he believed the reason for the collision had been navigational problems rather than technical failure. Fender Care Marine, a lightering company appointed by the owners of the Baltic Carrier to carry out the ship-to-ship transfer, said it had successfully completed transfer of all the remaining cargo with no further spillage.

17 April 2001 – Following received from the International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation, dated 12 April: M oil/chemical tanker Baltic Carrier, oil pollution, Falster, Denmark, 29 March, an update: Shoreline cleanup and offshore recovery has progressed well. However, insufficient temporary waste storage capacity has at times slowed the operation. In an effort to overcome this problem wastes are being stockpiled in Stege at an old sugar processing factory. From here wastes will be directed to waste disposal facilities in Denmark. Access difficulties in some of the more remote areas has been over- come by the Army Corps of Engineers laying a metal roadway thereby providing access to two large pools of oil at Bogo and work began in these areas on 4 April. About 30 workers manoeuvred booms containing oil towards four excavators which removed the oil into 1-tonne containers. Local community groups have assisted in cleaning the less oiled beaches. Beach cleaning with volunteers was organised by both Mon and Bogo municipalities. The local community was supportive and the result was an efficient means of cleaning the popular beach areas. Local representatives volunteered their time on 7 and 8 April, using hand-held tools and buckets to collect oil pancakes along several kilometres of amenity coastline. The emergency response phase of the cleanup and offshore recovery efforts has been completed. Responsibility for the shoreline cleanup was transferred from Danish Emergency Management Agency (DEMA) to the relevant municipalities and the command centre in Stubbekobing closed on 9 April. Fine cleaning of the affected shorelines now rests with the local authorities, and work will begin in earnest after the Easter holiday. To date approximately 1,100 oiled and killed birds have been recorded. But the total number of birds affected may potentially be higher.

18 April 2001 – Following received from Hyundai Mipo Dockyard Co. Ltd, dated today: Initial suspicions that the steering system of m oil/chemical tanker Baltic Carrier might have been faulty just before the collision with m bulk carrier Tern have had to be revised as a result of detailed investigations carried out by numerous experts from the manufacturers of the steering system, consultants, builders, etc. Since she collided with the Tern, exhaustive tests have been carried out over about a couple of weeks in the search for clues as to the cause. These investigations have covered the entire steering mechanism. The system has proved to be in good operational condition without any technical failures either in the autopilot system or in the steering gear system. During the voyage to the ship-repair yard in Poland, the pilot used the Baltic Carrier steering system to assist towing without any problems. The systems all worked satisfactorily. As a result any suggestion that the newly-built vessel might have some problem with her steering system now needs to be corrected. The indications are that the problem might have been caused by navigational errors rather than any technical failure.

26 March 2001 – Ievoli Sun (Italy)

The French government has agreed to allow part of the cargo of the sunken m chemical tanker Ievoli Sun to be released into the sea in small doses. The contract for making the wreck safe has been awarded to Smit Tak and Norwegian pumping specialist Frank Mohn. Minister of Transport Jean-Claude Gayssot and his advisers have decided to drop their insistence that the whole of the cargo be recovered by pumping. They have rallied to the proposal of the vessel's insurer, Standard P&I Club and marine surveyors, Brookes Bell Jarrett Kirman, to recover by pumping only the dangerous products, 4,000 tonnes of styrene and 180 tonnes of bunker oil, contained in the wreck. They have accepted that 2,000 tonnes of iso-propanol and methyl ethyl ketone and 60 tonnes of diesel oil, which were also in the vessel's tanks when she sank, are biodegradable and non-pollutant. They indicated that this opinion had been endorsed by the French marine pollution research body, CEDRE, and the UK's Maritime and Coastguard Agency. Work is to get under way on site next month and, according to the Ministry of Transport, should be concluded before the start of the summer holiday season. The Ministry of Transport said that the Smit Tak/Frank Mohn proposal made use of tried and trusted robots, thus reducing the risks for personnel involved in the operation, vessels, the coastal population and fauna and flora. It added, however, that the Marnavi shipping company, which owned Ievoli Sun, had been asked to reinforce the measures it was taking to prevent oil pollution in the course of the operation. It said that a working group was being set up under the chairmanship of the marine prefect in Cherbourg, on which the UK and Channel Islands authorities would be represented, to monitor the effectiveness of safety measures taken. Surface and submarine surveillance and intervention capacity will be on permanent mobilisation throughout the duration of the operation, it said. Operations will be carried out under the control of the French and UK authorities who will be constantly represented on board the vessels working on the wreck.

6 April 2001 – Attempts to salvage the fuel oil and part of the cargo on board sunken m chemical tanker Ievoli Sun are to get under way off the French coast at the start of next week. M barge carrier Smit Pioneer, the vessel from which the operation is to be run, is due in the port of Cherbourg, 8 April and is expected to begin underwater reconnaissance of the wreck on 10 April, using a remotely-operated vehicle. Marine surveyors Brookes Bell Jarrett Kirman, who are advising the Standard P&I Club on the operation, said it hoped the recovery of potential pollutants 4,000 tonnes of styrene and 180 tonnes of bunker oil by pumping could be completed within 40 days. The controlled release into the sea of biodegradable products – 2,000 tonnes of iso-propanol and methyl ethyl ketone and 60 tonnes of diesel oil – is still under discussion with the French authorities, however, and is expected to take place after the removal of the styrene and bunker oil. It is estimated that this second phase of operations could last ten days, although Brookes Bell point out that estimates of the likely duration of operations are subject to weather conditions in the Channel. The operation is to be carried out by Smit Tak and Norwegian pump specialist, Frank Mohn, using a system developed by the company which is fully automated and makes no use of divers. It will use a remote offloading system piloted by a remotely operated vehicle to drill holes in the hull of the Ievoli Sun, fit valves and pump the contents of the vessel's tanks up to the collecting vessel on the surface. Alex Sinclair of Brookes Bell said the method chosen for recovery of the styrene and bunker oil from the Ievoli Sun had been used elsewhere and was considered to be quick and efficient.

19 April 2001 – M barge carrier Smit Pioneer arrived off Alderney on 12 April, to start work on salvaging the chemical cargo and fuel oil from sunken m chemical tanker Ievoli Sun. The salvage operation could take up to 52 days, according to a Smit-Tak spokesman. There will be constant monitoring of the situation throughout the operation, to make sure there is no pollution of the air or sea.

20 April 2001 – Removal of chemicals and fuel oil from the wreck of the sunken m chemical tanker Ievoli Sun is expected to take about five weeks according to the Cherbourg Maritime Prefecture, which is overseeing the operation for the French Government. Reconnaissance of the wreck, which got under way on 14 April by salvor Smit Tak from its vessel Smit Pioneer, is still being carried out by remotely-operated vehicles equipped with cameras. The hull of the vessel poses no problem, says the prefecture, which adds that she has not changed position and shows no sign of leaking. Present efforts are concentrated on locating the vessel's different tanks and identifying areas where holes can be drilled for the purposes of pumping. The wreck contains 4,000 tonnes of styrene, 2,000 tonnes of iso-propanol and methyl ethyl ketone, 180 tonnes of bunker oil and 60 tonnes of diesel oil. The automated drilling system to be used by the salvor, Smit Tak, and its partner, Frank Mohn, requires two holes to be drilled in each tank concerned in the pumping operation, one at the base and the other at the top. Ten tanks containing styrene, as well as the vessel's fuel tanks, have to be emptied and their contents pumped up to vessels waiting at the surface. Methyl ethyl ketone and iso-propanol, which are contained in eight other tanks, as well as diesel oil are not concerned in the pumping operation, They are to be released slowly into the sea by means of specially fitted valves. The Maritime Prefecture said yesterday evening that no holes had yet been drilled in the vessel's hull. Survey work is at present limited to three two-hour periods daily due to the problems posed by currents in the area around the wreck. Ievoli Sun went down in 60-70m of water 20km off Alderney in the Channel Islands and 3km from the French coast, on 31 October last year after having been flooded in heavy weather.

23 April 2001 – Salvors have begun to remove cargo from m chemical tanker Ievoli Sun which sank about 35km off the French coast on 31 October last year. A statement issued by the vessel's Italian owners last week announced a contract had been signed with Smit Tak BY to remove 4,000 tonnes of styrene and the remaining fuel oil on board the wreck. Salvors will penetrate the tanks of the wreck and pump the cargo to the surface using specialist retrieval units. "The entire operation will be conducted from the surface, thereby eliminating the risk involved in the use of divers", the statement read. "The anchor-handling salvage tug Banckert will be on site as a guard and pollution protection vessel." The recovered styrene will be stored in a chemical tank barge and the oil will be moved to a slop barge, both placed on the working deck of the Smit Pioneer recovery vessel. The cargo will be transported to Rotterdam for processing.

4 May 2001 – The inner hull was pierced tonight in a state of the art operation on the wreck of m chemical tanker Ievoli Sun in an operation designed to slowly release the first 267m³ of part of the cargo of methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) in a controlled manner into the water column. Salvage operations continue in order to fit base plates on to the outer hull by use of a remote off-loading system (ROLS) and has continued since the operation began in early April. Tidal conditions continue to limit the operation, which can take place only at times of slack water. The first stages of the operation involved locating plates on the outer hull adjacent to each cargo tank. Over 20 such plates have now been located. These will be used to penetrate the cargo tanks prior to the removal of their contents. The on-site chemist is also undertaking continual atmospheric monitoring throughout the operation. Robin Middleton, Secretary of States Representative said tonight: "Slow, controlled release of non-marine pollutant cargo, which is biodegradable in these conditions began this evening and will continue until those tanks have been fully vented to the sea. The diesel contained in a number of small tanks will be left aboard." During the sinking at least one (probably two) of the styrene tanks were damaged and an unknown quantity of the chemical leaked from the wreck over a period of several days. This product reached the surface where it evaporated. The vessel now lies in over 65 m of water, some nine miles off the coast of Alderney.

12 May 2001 – Salvage operations continue aboard m semi-sub HL vessel Smit Pioneer for cargo and bunker fuel removal from the wreck of m chemical tanker Ievoli Sun. Early yesterday the final base plate was attached to the hull of the wreck to allow the removal of the styrene cargo. Work continued throughout the day and into last night to prepare the Smit Pioneer for the removal of the styrene into a specialist barge located on the stern deck of the Smit Pioneer. Weather permitting, styrene removal will begin early this morning, commencing with No. 9 starboard tank, which originally contained 170m³ of styrene. At each stage the tanks will be checked and tested that they are empty and a certificate issued before moving on to the next tank. When Smit Pioneer is approaching capacity a ship-to-ship transfer of the styrene will then be necessary. This will be undertaken during a period of offshore winds. The first of two such ship to ship transfers could take place as early as 15 May. The bunker tanks containing the intermediate fuel oil have not yet been breached. These will be left until the styrene transfer is complete.

24 May 2001 – Smit Tak has finished removing the 4,000 tonnes of styrene from m chemical tanker Ievoli Sun, which sank in the English Channel on 31 October. The other chemicals and diesel oil on board the vessel have already been released into the sea in controlled conditions. The company is now preparing to complete its contract with the Standard P&I Club by removing the 180 tonnes of bunker oil remaining on board the wreck. The company completed removal of the styrene on Tuesday (22 May). M barge carrier Smit Pioneer was yesterday en route for Lyme Bay, where she was due to tranship the chemical on to m tanker Angela for transportation to Rotterdam. Smit Pioneer was due to return to Ievoli Sun immediately afterwards to begin removing the bunker oil, which is contained in six separate tanks. Some 3,012m³ of styrene was recovered out of a total 4,492m³ originally on board the vessel before she sank. Part of her cargo was known to have been lost in the course of the sinking, although the French Ministry of Transport said yesterday that it was possible that some styrene remained trapped at the "top of her tanks or in her double hull". Smit Tak carried out the styrene recovery operation using its diverless pollutant recovery system, Polrec, for only the second time in operational conditions. The operation required two hot-tap penetrations of each of the ten tanks containing the styrene – one at the top and one at the bottom. The lower base plate, fitted to the bottom hole, allowed water into the tank while the styrene was being pumped out through the top hole. The styrene was pumped to the surface into the tanks of a reception barge positioned on the deck of Smit Pioneer. Ievoli Sun is lying in 95m of water, according to Smit Tak, 20km off Alderney. She went down while under tow after getting into difficulty in stormy conditions while en route from Falmouth to Berre.

6 April 2001 – Sharjah Area, United Arab Emirates

A total of 16 divers and experts have been sent by the Environment and Protected Areas Authority in Sharjah to estimate the damage caused by an oil slick to the sanctuary on Sir Bunair Island 70 nautical miles off the coast of Sharjah. Led by Major Ali Saqr Al Swaidi, head of the Emirates Group for Marine Environment, the team also includes environmental experts and personnel from the Emergency Forces at Sharjah Police. Abdulaziz Al Madfa, the authority's Director-General, said the team is equipped with an advanced research vessel to enable them to review the situation, determine the causes of the oil slick and take all measures to protect the sanctuary. Having such oil slicks occur in our territorial waters from time to time shows that we have poor environmental controls. There is also a lack of effective technical and organisational mechanisms for control, follow-up and handling of marine pollution, said Al Madfa, stressing the importance of working out a national marine contingency plan to handle such incidents. He blamed companies operating oil tankers in the Gulf for their "weak commitment to international laws pertaining to marine life and environmental protection and safety". Al Madfa added: "Individual initiatives and statements given about the current oil slick make us feel the real need for co-ordination between local and federal environmental authorities. We should work together to define the legal, technical and administrative framework that governs co-ordination strategies and promote environmental protection all over the country." Al Madfa said the authority has finalised a programme to study the environmental situation and biological diversity on Sir Bunair. "This programme, which starts today, is part of the authority's observances of Regional Environmental Day on 24 April. The programme will help us work out a comprehensive environmental plan to rehabilitate the island environmentally", said Al Madfa, adding that a group of divers and experts will help clean-up the sea bed around the island and along its beaches. Sir Bunair Island was proclaimed a natural sanctuary by His Highness Dr Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, on 10 December 2000 because of its unique environmental attractions.

12 April 2001 – Castor (Cyprus)

The investigation into m tanker Castor, which has uncovered corrosion rates ten times greater than normal, will now focus on remedial steps the industry may have to undertake to address the problem. The investigation, handled jointly by flag society American Bureau of Shipping and flag state Cyprus, has turned the vessel into a laboratory for corrosion, said ABS chairman Frank Iarossi. The findings that the probe is yielding could ultimately have wide-ranging repercussions. It is not just ageing product tankers. Newer double-hulled vessel's could be affected too. The investigation has found that fast spreading corrosion was the most likely reason for the vessel's deck cracking in heavy weather on 31 December 2000. The deck cracked across the No. 4 tank, which alternated as a cargo and a salt water ballast tank. Experts found that the crack, a series of six smaller fractures, was parallel to a buckling line on the deck and roughly in line with areas of corrosion where protective coatings had broken inside the tank. What makes the findings more startling is that deck plates, replaced in the area of the No. 4 tank during a special survey in 1997, showed signs of severe rusting. When they were put in, the plates were 16mm thick. "We found that these plates had wasted up to 5mm in three years", Mr Iarossi said. "You are talking about a wastage that is ten times what you would expect and it was really startling for us to see that." In some parts of the tank, he added, the corrosion rate was even higher. There are several factors that contributed to this. First, the protective coatings on the original steel had broken down in places. Second, the newer steel plates were uncoated and acted as an attack point for further corrosion. The fact that the tank regularly held both salt water and highly corrosive gasoline probably exacerbated matters. The vessel's trading pattern was also a likely factor, particularly because she discharged in warm waters. This week's news may seem to substantiate claims made by Spanish maritime authorities that the Castor was substandard. That was one of several reasons used by Spain to deny the vessel shelter early on in the crisis. Mr Iarossi rejects this view and stressed that the vessel's hull was in overall good condition. This supported the initial conclusion that this was not a substandard ship – it was a damaged vessel.

15 April 2001 – Zainab (Honduras)

According to a statement from the Federal Environmental Agency (FEA), m oil/chemical tanker Zainab (3,274gt, built 1969), with 1,300 tonnes of fuel oil, sank 16.5 nautical miles north of Jebel Ali at approximately 14.00, 14 April. An emergency meeting was called by Hamad Abdul Rahman Al Madla, the Minister of Health and Chairman of the FEA, to study the environmental situation arising from the sinking of the vessel. The statement said the vessel was leaking fuel from her tank. The condition and whereabouts of the crew were not divulged. Efforts are being made to contain the oil spill and protect the beaches in Dubai and Sharjah. The immediate operation is to control the leakage and pump out the oil stored in the vessel, to help salve the vessel. The incident was reported by Coast Guard teams patrolling the sea near Jebel Ali.

16 April 2001 – Oil leaking from a fuel tanker that sank in the Gulf off the coast of the United Arab Emirates while reportedly smuggling Iraqi oil was brought under control today, the UAE's health minister said. M oil/chemical tanker Zainab, which sank on Saturday, was intercepted several days ago by the Multinational Interception Force that enforces sanctions against Iraq, an official at the Bahrain-based US Navy's Fifth Fleet said. The vessel ran into trouble on her way to a holding area in international waters for ships suspected of smuggling Iraqi oil in violation of United Nations sanctions. Health Minister Hamad Abdul-Rahman al-Madfa said Coast Guard divers had managed to plug up holes in the tanker through which fuel oil had been spilling off the UAE's northern coast and that the leakage was now under "complete control". The official WAM news agency quoted him as saying the oil slick had started to disperse and was being treated with environmentally safe chemicals by teams fighting the spillage. The ship was carrying around 1,300 tonnes of fuel oil, the UAE's Federal Environment Agency said earlier. Her crew members were reported to have been rescued. UAE officials have said they would try to salvage the tanker which sank off the coast of Jebel Ali, north of Dubai. The Dubai Electricity and Water Authority said desalination stations at Jebel Ali in Dubai emirate had not been affected and were operating normally.

17 April 2001 – Clean-up crews are on 24-hour standby to deal with a 30-mile long oil slick which is threatening Dubai's beaches. The slick, from a sunken sanctions-busting Iraqi tanker, is expected to come ashore on beaches stretching from Al Sufouh to Jumeirah today. Yesterday the first oil from the sunken m oil/chemical tanker Zainab washed up on a beach in Jumeirah and 300 Dubai Municipality workers were deployed to clean it up. It is estimated that up to 300 tonnes of oil leaked from the tanker before divers were able to seal the holes from which it was leaking. There are fears that a 30-mile-long oil slick may hit Dubai's beaches today. Officials expect the oil will affect beaches along the entire length of Dubai's coastline from Al Sufouh to Jumeirah. Small quantities of oil began washing up on beaches yesterday as it emerged that the vessel could have been carrying considerably more than the reported 1,300 tonnes of oil. Shipping sources said yesterday that it was highly likely that the Zainab had been equipped with a minimum of four concealed compartments to carry oil in addition to the main storage area. The sources said that the Zainab could have been carrying as much as 3,000 tonnes of oil. Measures have been taken by the Dubai Water and Electricity Authority to ensure Dubai's desalination plants do not become contaminated with oil. Throughout yesterday 300 Dubai Municipality workers, equipped with black bin bags, shovels and brushes, were deployed to clean up the oil. They filled over 1,000 bags with contaminated sand which was then taken to a municipality dump at Sonapur for disposal. As the clean up got under way the Marine Environment Monitoring Unit of Dubai Municipality took samples of the water along the coastline, especially in sensitive areas, to analyse it for pollutants and to determine the extent of damage control required. Efforts to combat the oil slick could be hampered by the weather. Strong winds are expected to develop later today which will drive the oil onshore. Heavy seas will also make it difficult to disperse the oil before it comes ashore. The Meteorological Office at Dubai International Airport, said north-westerly shamals are expected to start blowing in from the sea by around noon today. They will arrive at the coastline at a speed of around 18-20 knots.

18 April 2001 – Authorities in the UAE have contained an oil slick from a tanker which sank in the Persian Gulf on Saturday after she was intercepted smuggling Iraqi oil in violation of UN sanctions. M oil/chemical tanker Zainab was reportedly carrying about 1,300 tonnes of Iraqi oil when she sank 16.5 miles off the port of Jebel Ali. UAE health minister Hamad Abdul-Rahman told reporters that Coast Guard divers had managed to plug holes in the sunken vessel through which oil had been leaking. A shore-side operation was under way yesterday to clean up traces of washed-up oil. Local reports estimated that up to 300 tonnes of oil had been released. The rapid response to the incident appears to have prevented what could have proved an environmental catastrophe in the fragile marine environment of the Persian Gulf. But the incident has sparked calls from the regional office of UNESCO for an oil spill contingency plan for the Persian Gulf. The Gulf, one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, suffers from sporadic oil pollution which could be prevented or limited if such a regional plan existed, it said. US Navy Commander Jeff Gradeck said that Zainab had been intercepted by the Multinational Interception Force, which enforces UN sanctions against Iraq. She was en route, under US Navy escort, to a holding area in international waters for sanction-busting ships when the incident happened. It was not clear yesterday why the vessel sank but Mr Gradeck said she had run into problems early on Saturday. The crew was rescued by the UAE Coastguard. Reports from Dubai had Zainab flagged in Georgia, but commercially available shipping databases showed she was registered in Honduras. Lloyd's List could not verify yesterday whether or not the vessel was still flagged in the Central American country. Dubai-based Sa ad Dhaif Aydan, registered owners, could not be reached for comment yesterday. Records showed that Zainab was not in class at the time of the incident, though she had been classed by Det Norske Veritas up to April, 1995. ISM certification for Zainab had been issued by Bureau Veritason, 31 July 1995, and was valid until 18 July 2003, records showed. Zainab, which is being described as a Georgian tanker, appears to be the former general cargo vessel Banadir, which changed name to Zainab in 1997. She was built as Queen of Sheba, at Verolme Botlek in 1966.

18 April 2001 – Clean-up crews worked yesterday to ensure Dubai's beaches were clear of oil from m oil/chemical tanker Zainab, which sank off Jebel Ali four days ago. But fears that a 30-mile oil slick would lead to serious contamination of popular tourist beaches proved unfounded. The volume of oil which did come ashore was much less than that which was washed up on Monday (16 April), Municipality officials said. Strong winds which were expected to push the oil onshore failed to materialise. However, wind speeds were expected to pick up during the night and municipality officials said there was still a risk that more oil would come ashore today. Officials said they would maintain a strict watch until it was clear that the oil threat had passed. According to Hassam Makki, Head of Waste Services, the department has 200-400 workers on standby to deal with any oil which comes ashore.

19 April 2001 – At 06.30 yesterday a black tide of oil, almost certainly from the sunken m oil/chemical tanker Zainab, started washing up on the Dubai and Sharjah coastlines, while a second large slick was spotted off Hamriya Port, in Dubai. Throughout yesterday, teams of workers from both Dubai and Sharjah municipalities toiled to clean up beaches from Fumeirah, in Dubai, to AI Layyah, in Sharjah. In places along the coast, the oil formed thick black pools, in others it resembled a brown tide sweeping along the shoreline. A Sharjah shipping company team, which is taking part in a survey of the Zainab, was unable to carry out any salvage operations yesterday due to high winds. Abdul Sahib, service master and a member of the surveying team from the White-sea Shipping and Satellite Company, Sharjah, confirmed that the Zainab was in a poor condition when she sank. "I have been working in this field for the past 14 years and I can tell you from experience that vessel is not made of high quality metal. Although the leakage has been blocked and taken care of, I am not sure as to whether it has been successful in minimising the oil spillage. Our divers who have gone down equipped with cameras and other materials required for surveying found the vessel tilted to one side. This makes the situation all the more serious." Sahib said the divers would resume their survey operations today only if the winds were moderate.

20 April 2001 – M oil/chemical tanker Zainab had been caught three times by UN naval forces and may have been sunk deliberately. Industry sources said that the Zainab, which went down 32km north of Jebel Ali and released as much as 1,300 tonnes of fuel oil into the Gulf, was well known to shipping authorities as an environmental disaster waiting to happen. Commander Steve Bennett, Royal Naval Liaison Officer in the Gulf, described the vessel's condition as "appalling". He said that once the vessel started to go down, parts of the structure collapsed, but how that first hole was made has yet to be established. The latest incident was the fourth time since September that the vessel had been caught breaking UN sanctions. Bennett said that twice she was caught in international waters and tugs from Iraq were ordered to escort her back to shore because of her unseaworthy state. She had also been arrested and taken to Abu Dhabi, where her contents were auctioned off along with the vessel herself. She went straight back to sea and was detained by the maritime intervention forces under suspicion of smuggling oil. Zainab was then being escorted for handover to the UAE authorities when she sank. Explaining why the Zainab was allowed to go back to sea, despite being unseaworthy, Bennett said, "There is currently no regional port state control legislation which prevents an unseaworthy vessel like the Zainab from returning to sea. An implemented policy would have prevented this from happening because it means national ports can take control of a vessel which is sub-standard, according to international maritime conventions." He described the Zainab as a typical sanctions-busting vessel and said her history with the authorities was not unique. "No repair works were carried out on the vessel and it was a disaster waiting to happen. The Zainab is not unusual for the types of vessels carrying out these operations in the Gulf. Her doors were welded shut to prevent interception force personnel from legally boarding the vessel." Captain Mohammed Alaa Farag, a ship inspection expert for the Ministry of Communications, said that although enforcing port state control legislation would cut down on the number of sub-standard vessels in the Gulf, it would not eradicate sanctions-busting in unseaworthy vessels. These vessels do not come into the UAE's ports, but unload their cargo into vessels anchored off the coast. Unless they are caught and brought to shore, they will not get inspected and these areas are notoriously difficult to police. The present system of auctioning off the vessel caught sanctions-busting is not stopping the vessels from going back to sea. On many occasions the same owners buy them back and they continue with the trade. Farag added that plans to bring in a full port state control system to the UAE were in the pipeline. "Currently plans are drawn up to implement inspectors and offices around the UAE. There will be a main office in Abu Dhabi which controls three regional offices in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah. Then there would be a further six offices placed at key UAE ports. In each of these offices there would have to be at least two inspectors because otherwise there would be too many vessels to check. At the moment the proposals are with the government, and we are waiting for funding."

20 April 2001 – Water shortages hit homes in Sharjah yesterday, as the first oil from the sunken m oil/chemical tanker Zainab hit Ajman's beaches. The Al Liyya desalination plant in Sharjah and the Al Zawra plant in Ajman were closed to prevent contamination. The Zulal water bottling plant in Sharjah remained closed for a second day. Oil patches reached Ajman Beach around 17.00, 19 April. They were small patches, but the oil might go further due to strong wind and high seas, Abdulaziz Al Madfa, Director General of Sharjah Environment and Protected Areas Authority (SEPAA), said yesterday. Teams representing various local and federal authorities continued the clean-up operations along Sharjah beaches. All they are doing is cleaning the polluted areas, but since huge amounts of oil are still leaking from the sunken vessel, the problem will continue.

21 April 2001 – Clean-up operations continued on Sharjah's coastline yesterday to get rid of the oily sand caused by the oil slick. Oil patches had been spotted along the Sharjah beaches all the way up to the Ajman coast. Some oil patches reached Ajman's beaches on Thursday (19 April) afternoon, carried by strong winds and water currents. This prompted the local authorities to close the emirate's main desalination water plant as a precaution against pollution. Sources in the Umm Al Quwain Coast Guard confirmed yesterday that there were no traces of oil spotted in the emirate's water until last night. Meanwhile, Sharjah residents have been suffering a water shortage since Thursday after the Emirate's main desalination plant was shut down. The water was cut off for hours in the Al Khan area. Yesterday, the water shortage spread to other places in the emirate. Water was provided from 05.00 to 11.30, then cut off and restored from 19.00 until midnight, sources at the Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority's (SEWA) emergency section said yesterday. They did not say, however, how long the water shortage would continue and asked people to ration their use of water. Most residents in Sharjah complained that the water shortage had spoilt their weekend, while others observed that the little water supply they had was not clean and contained sand. Abdul Aziz Al Madfa, Director General of the Sharjah Environment and Protected Areas Authority yesterday said that the authority and other parties involved in curbing the harmful effects of the oil slick had been working in cooperation with individual efforts. He explained that the coordination with the Federal Environmental Agency (FEA) had been very limited. It has been estimated that it could take up to a month to rid Dubai's coastline of the oil pollution caused when "container vessel" Zainab, smuggling Iraqi crude, sank last Saturday. The rocks along the Al Mamzar breakwater are still stained with a substantial amount of black goo, and small patches of oil slick wash up regularly. More than 100 workers were involved in the cleaning of the beaches at Al Mamzar, which were particularly badly affected. However, police at the scene said they were not aware if any cleaning crews had come yesterday.

22 April 2001 – Strong wind and tides washed oil along large stretches of coastline yesterday as Emirates officials sought advice on what to do about vessel Zainab, that has been leaking smuggled Iraqi oil since she sank a week ago. A private company is assessing how to dispose of the Georgian-flagged vessel, said Seif Shaafar, a deputy in the Interior Ministry. It is examining the condition of the vessel and considering how to transfer the oil to another vessel and whether to raise the vessel, he said. Government officials said they would not identify the company until they have a signed agreement with it detailing what services will be provided and at what cost. Despite reports that leaks in the vessel were plugged early on, Abdulaziz al-Madfa, director-general of the Sharjah Environment and Natural Reserves Authority, said yesterday that oil was still seeping out of the poorly maintained Zainab. Meanwhile yesterday, a spokesman for the US-led Maritime Interception Force, which enforces UN sanctions on Iraq, said its patrols had intercepted and diverted another vessel smuggling Iraqi oil earlier this month. The Honduran-flagged vessel Diamond was intercepted 11 April, Cmdr Jeff Gradeck said. She was on her way to India and diverted to Zaid port in Abu Dhabi, the Emirates news agency reported yesterday. Gradeck said the force this year has impounded 24 vessels found to be carrying illegal Iraqi oil. He said 394 vessels have been boarded and searched since 1 January.

23 April 2001 – Operations continued in Sharjah and Ajman yesterday to clear beaches of oil which had leaked from the sunken sanctions-busting vessel Zainab. Large quantities of oil were removed from the Al Khan and Al Mamzar Creek beaches. In the wake of news of a new oil slick possibly reaching regional waters, Sharjah Municipality hired two companies to set up a barrier at the entrance to Khaled Lagoon, Director-General Ahmed Fikri said yesterday. Work has continued day and night to clean up the oil, he said, but it would be some time before the beaches were completely clean. Efforts to remove the oil from the northern entrance of Al Mamzar inlet were continuing and it would be cleared within the next two days. But all traces of the oil which had reached Al Hira coast last Thursday have been removed. In Ajman, rough waters and strong winds have been pushing oil patches to the coast since Friday. Municipal teams moved quickly to prevent the oil from spreading further, a source said yesterday. He added that the greater part of the floating oil as well as the oily sand had been removed. Clean-ups were being carried out along the beaches of the Ajman hotels. In Umm Al Quwain, the Coast Guard has been on the alert for the arrival of any oil on the beaches. Hourly patrols were checking the situation. Meanwhile the water shortage in Sharjah has eased with the opening on Saturday of the Al Layyah Water Desalination Plant. In Ajman, the water shortage problem began to recede when the Al Zawra and Al Khaleej desalination plants were reopened, a source at the Ajman Water and Electricity Department said yesterday. He did not say whether the plants were back to full capacity.

23 April 2001 – Holes in the hull of vessel Zainab, that sank off the coast of Dubai, leaking thousands of gallons of smuggled Iraqi oil, have been plugged and the spill brought under control, the official Emirates news agency reported today.

24 April 2001 – Vessel Zainab: Teams have geared up to contain oil patches that are expected to hit the beaches today, a Sharjah Municipality official said yesterday. Clean-up operations conducted along the Sharjah coast in the past week have cleared most of the oil that hit the beaches of Al Hamriya, Al Khan and Al Mamzar, said Abdullah Al Naboodah, head of the Municipality's solid waste section. He said: "The situation is more stable. Only small patches have remained. The team is on alert should more patches hit the beaches." Al Naboodah said the oil patches are now small and can be easily contained. The 300m slick which hit Al Hamriya Port and beaches two days ago has been contained. Another patch which hit the same area yesterday, is in the rocks and has settled there. Special absorbents are being used to remove it. The official declared that the worst is over.

30 April 2001 – A new 150m oil slick hit Al Mamzar and Al Khan beaches in Dubai and Sharjah yesterday, affecting Al Khan Lagoon and Al Qasba Canal for the first time. Abdullah Al Naboodah, head of the Solid Waste Section at Sharjah Municipality, said the slick hit the beaches early yesterday morning. "The thick oil leaked from vessel Zainab which sank off Jebel Ali earlier this month", said the spokesman. The slick was dealt with by the municipality within hours. "We will keep monitoring the situation to handle any possible emergency," Al Naboodah said. However, it will take some time to completely eliminate the pollution. "There is great co-operation between Sharjah Municipality, the Environment and Protected Areas Authority, Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority and other local and federal authorities to bring the situation under control", Al Naboodah said. The municipality team fighting the oil slick comprises more than 50 municipal workers and experts. Al Naboodah said small patches of oil had continuously washed up on the beaches ever since Zainab sank. A spokesman at Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority said yesterday that the oil slicks which hit the beaches over the past three days had not affected SEWA's main desalination plant at Al Liyya. "The plant is working at full capacity and all necessary precautions have been taken to protect it from any oil slicks", the spokesman said.

11 May 2001 – M tanker Zainab, which sank off Jebel Ali on 14 April, with more than 1,300 tonnes of smuggled Iraqi oil, will not be salvaged since it no longer poses a threat to the marine environment and shipping, a source involved in the oil spill clean-up said yesterday. According to Captain Peter Holloway, who was involved in the clean-up, the vessel lies in deep seas and will not be salvaged because the remaining 800 tonnes of oil was recovered last Friday (4 May) and the vessel contains no more oil. Meanwhile, a senior official at the Ministry of Communications yesterday said that the ministry in Dubai acted in timely fashion last Tuesday to prevent another disaster by stop- ping a Bolivian-flagged vessel from leaving a local port in poor condition. The official said that maritime inspectors in Dubai intervened on time to stop a more than 32-year-old vessel in extremely poor condition from sailing. A senior inspector boarded the vessel as it was about to depart and found it in the worst condition. "There would have been another disaster if the vessel had been allowed to sail." The vessel, the Bolivia, was carrying 1,000 tonnes of lubricating oil from Iran to India. The official said the oil cargo will be discharged safely and the vessel will not be allowed to sail until it is fully seaworthy. The vessel will only be allowed to sail when total safety is assured, he declared. But it will be blacklisted to prevent it from entering UAE territorial waters again.

9 May 2001 – Irresponsible oil tanker owners are taking advantage of the recent oil slick to illegally wash out their tanks in UAE waters, a senior Dubai Municipality official said yesterday. S tanker Atlantic Blue (162,048gt, built 1978) was caught dumping oil residue off Port Rashid last Thursday (3 May) and its owner has been fined Dh150,000 for violating local environment protection laws as well as international and regional treaties. But many other ships are also flouting the law regardless of the environmental impact. Redha Hassan Salman, head of the municipality's Environment Protection and Safety Section, said a 1m² sheen of oil was spotted five miles off Dubai's southern coast on Sunday (6 May). He said the oil was not from the m tanker Zainab, which sank off the coast of Jebel Ali on 14 April, but from a tanker cleaning its tanks. "The oil sheen has been discharged by a tanker taking advantage of the recent oil spill", he said. "The source has not been identified yet, but we are evaluating the problem and the need for increased surveillance." The oil is not expected to reach the Dubai coastline, unlike the slicks from the Zainab, which washed up on beaches in Dubai and the Northern Emirates for several weeks. Hussein Nasser Lootah, the municipality's Assistant Director-General for Environment and Public Health Affairs, said urgent action is needed to thwart those who pollute the local seas. "The country's territorial waters are subject to a lot of negative practices by some vessels", he said. "This calls for urgent action on the part of the concerned bodies such as the Coast Guard. There should be strict monitoring and stringent actions against these types of violations." He urged shipping agents to instruct owners of vessels and tankers to respect international and regional treaties on environment protection. "We will spare no efforts in implementing these treaties and imposing hefty fines against violators to pay compensation for the damage", he declared. Lootah said the municipality will reward anybody who provides information about environmental crimes if they can substantiate it with solid evidence. A shipping source said cowboy operators will illegally clean their tanks at sea rather than pay to have it done in port. "If a ship is carrying a cargo of crude and its next cargo is going to be higher-quality fuel, then the tanks need to be cleaned out first", he said. "The ship owner should pay an onshore facility to wash out the tanks, but some cowboys suck up sea water into their tanks, swill it around and then pump it back into the sea. This is illegal, but following the Zainab spill it has been happening more often because people think they will get away with it. The problem the authorities have is finding out which ship is responsible. At anchorage you can have up to 100 ships within half a mile of each other but, within a short period of time after a ship has washed out its tanks, the oil has dispersed and it is very hard to prove which one was responsible. This is starting to be addressed around the world with the use of satellite imagery which can take regular pictures in order to spot violations as they occur."

11 May 2001 – Singapore's Tanker Pacific Management has denied allegations that its tanker Atlantic Blue caused oil pollution last week. The Dubai Municipality has imposed a hefty fine on the company, accusing Atlantic Blue of illegally dumping oil in the Persian Gulf. Dubai claims Singapore's biggest tanker operator was caught dumping an unspecified amount of waste oil off Port Rashid on 3 May. Tanker Pacific spokesman Sam Norton denied the spill and said the company had challenged the dirham 150,000 ($73,620) fine imposed in Dubai for violating environmental protection laws and treaties. Mr Norton said the company – which was notified of the fine this week – maintained there was no oil released from Atlantic Blue. "We don't agree with the fine. We don't agree with the allegations surrounding the fine and we are attempting to meet with the local authorities to understand the justification for the fine", he said. Company representatives in Dubai will meet municipality officials on Sunday. The tanker remains in Dubai undergoing boiler repairs. "We dispute that there is any of our oil in the water at all", Mr Norton said, adding that an unexplainable amount of oil was present in the Gulf waters.

31 May 2001 – Dubai blasted the lack of control over Gulf waters and poor crisis management in a report published today after the emirate's beaches were polluted when m tanker Zainab, loaded with smuggled Iraqi oil, sank. Dubai municipality Environment Department said the sinking vessel "led to remarkable environmental, economic and tourist damage". The clean-up operation cost the municipality 4.3 million dirhams ($1.2 million), it said. The report, detailed by Gulf News, slammed "the lack of strict control over Gulf waters, coupled with a lack of modern systems to control the passage and transit of ships". It was also scathing of the bureaucratic delays in dealing with the spill that polluted beaches in Dubai and the neighbouring emirates of Ajman and Sharjah as well as the lack of defences to protect public utilities following the forced closure of two desalination plants. There is a "shortage of technical and material support to implement an efficient emergency plan and quick response to face a crisis and a lack of a professionally trained team to combat oil pollution", it said. The report also criticised the delay in "assigning a salvage crew to pump out the oil remaining in the tanker and the slowness of authorities in taking action to combat the oil spill".

16 April 2001 – Braer (Liberia)

The inquiry into the loss of m tanker Braer eight years ago should be reopened, a Member of Parliament has said, amid claims that the tanker was unfit to sail. The Braer ran aground off the Shetland Islands 5 January 1993, spilling 84,700 tons of crude oil into the sea, causing damage costing millions of pounds. Captain Alexandros Gelis, heavily criticised in the report into the disaster, believed that the tanker should never have left Norway on its final voyage, the Sunday Herald has reported. Jim Wallace, Liberal Democrat MP for Orkney and Shetland, said in the Commons last week that the Government should ensure that the £3.7 million in unpaid compensation claims was settled. The accident report said that bad weather was largely to blame for the loss. However, the report also said that Captain Gelis "did nothing, demonstrating a fundamental lack of basic seamanship". Captain Gelis told the newspaper that he had been kept ignorant of the badly corroded state of the boilers and their dangerously contaminated water supply. He said that he had never been given the chance to reply to the findings of the inquiry, which largely accepted the version of events given by Bergvall and Hudner, the tanker's owners. Mr Wallace wants the Chief Inspector of the Marine Accident Investigation Branch to "review the previous findings in the light of this new information".

27 April 2001 – Rivers Danube, Tisza and Somes, Hungary and Romania

Hungary said today it had begun a lawsuit against Romanian mining company Aurul SA, for causing a devastating cyanide spill in Hungarian rivers last year. The claim, submitted today to Budapest's Capital Court, is for Hungarian forints 28.596 billion ($95.71 million) to compensate Hungary for economic damages due to the contamination, including the suspension of fishing in the region and the cost of ecological rehabilitation. "With (this) lawsuit, the Hungarian state wishes (to make) the company pay for the losses suffered by the Hungarian state and to prohibit environmental polluting by Aurul until the necessary safety measures are installed", the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement. The lawsuit comes after Aurul failed to reply to Hungary's offer to settle the problems outside court. Early last year, 100,000m³ of cyanide-tainted water overflowed at the tailings dam at the Auru1 project in Baia Mare, Romania, poisoning fish and other marine life in the Tisza and Danube rivers, which flow into Hungary. The Aurul project in north-west Romania is owned by Aurul SA, of which Australian mining company Esmeralda Exploration Ltd owns 50 percent. The Romanian government holds a 45 percent stake and the remaining 5 percent is owned by Romanian enterprises.

30 April 2001 – Dae Yong (South Korea)

Shanghai clean-up crews yesterday ended their two-week struggle to contain China's worst ocean toxic spill. However, marine officials warned that the danger posed by the release of 700 tonnes of styrene, a potentially deadly chemical when ingested, remained serious. The styrene was dumped into the East China Sea on 17 April, when South Korean vessel Doyang (m tanker Doe Yong, 2,465gt, built 1985) carrying 2,290 tonnes of the chemical collided with Hong Kong vessel Dowong near the mouth of the Yangtze River. The accident took place 50km off the Shengsi Archipelago, Zhejiang province. Afterwards, Doyang proceeded to an anchorage further south in the province, disregarding a marine police warning, a senior marine bureau official said. The official said a 30km² exclusion zone had been created around the spill area. The clean-up effort finished yesterday, successfully lifting most of the styrene from the ocean, officials said. However, they admitted some of the chemical had dissolved in the air and water and represented an ongoing threat to marine and human health. There was no immediate danger to Shanghai residents, they said. Nevertheless, scientists warned that the impact on marine life could be severe. The Doyang was travelling at high speed at 08.00 en route to Ningbo, Zhejiang province, when she collided with the Dawang, which was also travelling at high speed. A preliminary investigation indicated that heavy fog helped cause the accident. Marine officials said their investigation was continuing

29 May 2001 – Chinese environmental experts are struggling to contain damage from toxic styrene which leaked from a vessel (m oil/chemical tanker Daemyong, 1,599gt, built 1995, not m tanker Dae Yong, as previously reported) last month and fishermen along the eastern coast fear their livelihoods could be threatened for years to come. About 700 tons of the chemical, which is poisonous to humans, seeped into the waters near Shanghai after the South Korean vessel collided with a Hong Kong vessel (m bulk carrier Great Prestige, 27,251gt, built 1998, not Dawang as before reported) on 17 April. Shanghai environmental officials say they plan to seek damages for the leak, which has effectively now been plugged, but are still coming to terms with the full impact of their worst such chemical spill. "There's definitely a long-term influence to human health, but we can't say exactly what that would be", said Zhang Long, a spokesman for the Shanghai Environmental Monitoring Centre. "Our experts say they have never seen this before, nor does the country have any experience with spills of styrene." Styrene is a colourless oil derivative widely used to make rubber, food containers and carpet backing. Negotiations are under way with the vessels' British insurers but Chinese officials threatened to go to court if a suitable amount of compensation for the eastern region's lucrative fish business was not agreed, officials said. Thousands of small fishing boats ply the Yangtze River Delta in search of anchovy, eel and, further upriver, river crab popular in eastern Chinese cuisine. "We don't have a final, concrete assessment, but we estimate that for two to three years the pollution will continue to disrupt the fish industry", Ma Yi, a senior manager at Shanghai's fish industry supervisory body, said. "We'll have to talk to the insurers. If we can agree on compensation, then we won't have to go to court", he said. While initial mopping up was complete, he said an undisclosed sum of money was needed to restore the polluted area and recoup lost fishery production. "The damage will remain for a long time in the environment", Ma said. "This kind of substance cannot be immediately, totally cleaned up." Officials say the owners of the Korean and Hong Kong vessels had agreed to pay $4 million each as "guarantees", after which the Korean vessel, currently docked in a Chinese port for repairs, would be allowed to sail home. "We're waiting for the money guarantees, after that, the Korean vessel can leave", said a Shanghai Maritime Bureau official. State media said the South Korean vessel was carrying nearly 2,300 tons of styrene when it collided with the Hong Kong vessel in dense fog at the mouth of the Yangtze River, near Jigujiao. The vessel rocked and swayed after the collision, quickening the flow of chemicals from a breach in her hull, the Wenhui Daily said. A number of government organisations are holding hurried talks to decide how best to handle the situation. The government had a preliminary damage report, but environmental specialists would need a fair bit of time for a more accurate assessment, said the monitoring centre's Zhang.

(Note: Daemyong was last reported to have sailed Kobe, 12 April. Great Prestige arrived Singapore, 8 May.)

2 May 2001 – Jessica (Ecuador)

The captain of m tanker Jessica, which ran aground in January and dumped nearly 240,000 gallons of diesel fuel off of the Galapagos Islands, was sentenced today to 90 days in jail and stripped of his maritime license. Tarquino Arevalo, 58, was convicted of violating several maritime laws, including failure to maintain adequate emergency prevention measures on board the tanker and approaching the shore with his radar turned off, the statement said. While scientists say the spill could have been much worse, the long-term environmental damage to the islands, about 600 miles off the Ecuadorean mainland, remains unclear. Local authorities have also not decided whether to leave the tanker's emptied hull in the water to form a reef or to try to remove it, which would be costly and difficult.

17 May 2001– Erika (Malta)

Total admissible claims from the French tourism sector resulting from the m tanker Erika oil spill are expected to reach FFr l.2 billion ($208 million), according to Joe Nichols, head of claims at the International Oil Pollution Compensation Funds. By April, 304,609 claims had been submitted totalling FFr 770 million, he said, but French Ministry of Economy, Finance and Industry Studies expect tourism claims to top FFr l billion.