- Email: [email protected]
Pollution on the south coast of Western Australia
Volume 22/Number 7/July 1991
What Caused Dolphin Deaths? Last summer's mass Striped Dolphin (Stenella coeruloalba) mortalities (see Mar. Pollut. Bull. 21, 501) may have been caused by a combination of factors, investigators believe. The several hundred corpses washed up around the Mediterranean coastline may represent only a small proportion of the total number of deaths. Alex Aguilar of Barcelona University and the President of the European Cetacean Society, believes that two successive mild winters may have led to a reduced nutrient supply resulting in reduced stocks of fish on which the dolphins feed. The emaciated condition of the washed up corpses supports the theory that starvation resulted in the suppression of the dolphins' immune system. This suppression may have been exacerbated by the release into the blood stream of PCBs accumulated in fatty tissue. PCBs are a recognized'immuno-depressant and some corpses contained unusually high levels. This immuno-suppression rendered the dolphins prone to the distemper and herpes virus which autopsies revealed to be the final cause of death. A possible further factor is indicated by the fact that the highest numbers of corpses were found near tourist centres. It is possible that the discharge of raw sewage may have elevated seawater virus counts and increased infections. Fortunately, the epidemic is now waning, though several dolphin corpses are reported to have been
L m
washed up on Spain's Atlantic coast indicating that the epidemic may be spreading. Whether the epidemic has crossed to the Mediterranean Monk Seal population remains uncertain.
PETER JONES
Pollution on the South Coast of Western Australia In mid-February 1991, a bulk freighter, the Sanko Harvest, ran aground about 20 km offshore on an isolated reef near Esperance on the south coast of Western Australia (see Mar. Pollut. Bull. 22, 166). This area is sparsely populated, with little industrial development. The coastline is spectacular (much of the area is reserved as National Park), the waters are clear and relatively low in nutrients. The reef is part of an archipelago set aside for conservation and near an area supporting a significant commercial fishery based on abalone, scallop, southern rock lobster, shark and other fish; there is also a significant recreational fishery. The ship broke up in very heavy weather over 4 days and sank in 20 m of water, releasing 560 t of oil on to pristine beaches both on islands and on the mainland. This affected seals on the archipelago--about 10 New Zealand fur seals were killed--but there seems to have been little impact on the substantial bird populations in the area.
LIl
"~ "]'7 ""
317
Marine Pollution Bulletin
However, the ship was also carrying 30 000 t of fertilizer--22 000 t of di-ammonium phosphate and 8000 t of 'Triple A' Superphosphate. The fertilizer dissolved rapidly in seawater and although a slick was visible for a few days after the wreck, this soon dissipated. The amount of nitrogen released (as ammonium-N), 3850 t, is equivalent to the entire yearly load of sewage and industrial effluent entering the waters of the Perth metropolitan area (population ca 1 million); the available phosphorus released (as phosphate-P), 5800 t, is about five times the annual phosphorus load to the metropolitan region. Early monitoring data suggests that there was very rapid dispersal of nutrients. Initial monitoring, within a few days, showed high concentrations at the wreck site, falling rapidly in surface waters, with occasional higher concentrations up to 12 krn away, sometimes at depth. Patterns of oil and nutrient dispersal were in general consistent with predictions based on wind-driven water movement, allowing for bathometry. Monitoring programmes are being undertaken to assess any longer term changes. D. I. WALKER
Haven Continues to Threaten Mediterranean Oil .from the sunken tanker Haven has been washing up on the shores of the French Riviera. Shores near Nice were polluted by highly emulsified oil at the end of April. It is estimated that oil continues to leak from the stricken ship at a rate of around 300 gallons per hour. Recovery of the oil from the water is very difficult because of.its advanced emulsified state. At this time, a 400 km 2 slick was hovering off the coast of Nice and Monaco. The slick was later broken up by strong northerly winds which held it off the shores. Some beaches between Nice and St Tropez were affected, however, with 30 000 gallons of oil impacting 5 km of shoreline. The beaches were manually cleaned. About 32 km of Italian shoreline had been affected by the spill, most of which has been cleaned up. Bad weather had broken open some of the containment booms and it was this oil that had made its way to the French coast. The Haven is lying about a mile off the Italian town of Arenzano. Most of its 42 million gallon cargo has either been recovered or burnt off. The present leaks are bunker oil coming from the fuel tanks. Haven, a 232 000 t Cypriot tanker sank after exploding and spilling 10 000 t of oil into the Mediterranean (see Mar. Pollut. Bull. 22, 260). The 18-year-old ship was on its first voyage after undergoing repairs for damage suffered when it was shelled by an Iraqi frigate in 1988 during the Iraq-Iran war. According to recent reports from Lloyd's List, Keppel Shipyard Ltd, repairers of Haven, may face a claim of $84 million from the vessel's owners if they can find a causal relationship between the recent repairs and the incident. Keppel maintains that the Haven work 318
was carried out under very close supervision of the owners' superintendents. The vessel was certified as sea-worthy by the American Bureau of shipping after two extensive sea trials.
Marine Diesel Sulphur Control The European Community (EC) is set to tighten regulations governing the sulphur content of diesel fuel used by large sea-going vessels. This will follow recently issued proposals regulating sulphur content for inland and pleasure craft. The aims of the proposals are to cut the sulphur content of diesel by a third by October 1994. The present EC proposal will cut the present 0.3% level of sulphur in diesel oil to 0.2% by October 1994 and to 0.05% by October 1996. Light diesel (bunker gas oils), as used by inland vessels, pleasure boats and ships' generators is being cut to 0.2% by October 1994 and to 0.1% by October 1999. Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Luxemburg and the Netherlands already have set sulphur contents at 0.2%. Non-EC Australia and Switzerland require a 0.1% level. Britain meets a higher 0.3% level. The French government are pressing the EC to prepare further proposals to extend the sulphur restrictions to heavier shipping oils and to petrol. Sulphur content in fuel oils is partly due to the origin of the oil. Oil from the North Sea fields is low in sulphur, while crudes from Saudi Arabia, Gulf States, USSR and Mexico are high in sulphur. The sulphur content of oil is converted to sulphur dioxide during combustion which is believed to be one cause of acid rain.
SFT Raps BP Norge BP Norge has been severely reprimanded by the Norwegian State Pollution Inspectrrate for sloppy environmental practices on its 'Gyda' platform which came onstream in June last year. SFT accuse the platform of being one of the worst that it had ever inspected citing 13 violations of SFF and BP's own regulations. These included failure to notify spills, dangerous chemical waste stored in an unsatisfactory manner and inadequate procedures for monitoring emissions of pollutants. Waste water on occasions contained up to 500 times the permitted amount of oil. According to a report in the Oslo Aftenposter~ BP Norge's managing director Ola Wattne said that the company had taken steps to put things right immediately after receiving the SFT report.
Additional Oil Pollution in Gulf An oil slick 30 km long and 2.5 km wide threatened important installations at Iran's major commercial port Bandar Abbas during mid-May. At the time, the oil was
What Caused Dolphin Deaths? Last summer's mass Striped Dolphin (Stenella coeruloalba) mortalities (see Mar. Pollut. Bull. 21, 501) may have been caused by a combination of factors, investigators believe. The several hundred corpses washed up around the Mediterranean coastline may represent only a small proportion of the total number of deaths. Alex Aguilar of Barcelona University and the President of the European Cetacean Society, believes that two successive mild winters may have led to a reduced nutrient supply resulting in reduced stocks of fish on which the dolphins feed. The emaciated condition of the washed up corpses supports the theory that starvation resulted in the suppression of the dolphins' immune system. This suppression may have been exacerbated by the release into the blood stream of PCBs accumulated in fatty tissue. PCBs are a recognized'immuno-depressant and some corpses contained unusually high levels. This immuno-suppression rendered the dolphins prone to the distemper and herpes virus which autopsies revealed to be the final cause of death. A possible further factor is indicated by the fact that the highest numbers of corpses were found near tourist centres. It is possible that the discharge of raw sewage may have elevated seawater virus counts and increased infections. Fortunately, the epidemic is now waning, though several dolphin corpses are reported to have been
L m
washed up on Spain's Atlantic coast indicating that the epidemic may be spreading. Whether the epidemic has crossed to the Mediterranean Monk Seal population remains uncertain.
PETER JONES
Pollution on the South Coast of Western Australia In mid-February 1991, a bulk freighter, the Sanko Harvest, ran aground about 20 km offshore on an isolated reef near Esperance on the south coast of Western Australia (see Mar. Pollut. Bull. 22, 166). This area is sparsely populated, with little industrial development. The coastline is spectacular (much of the area is reserved as National Park), the waters are clear and relatively low in nutrients. The reef is part of an archipelago set aside for conservation and near an area supporting a significant commercial fishery based on abalone, scallop, southern rock lobster, shark and other fish; there is also a significant recreational fishery. The ship broke up in very heavy weather over 4 days and sank in 20 m of water, releasing 560 t of oil on to pristine beaches both on islands and on the mainland. This affected seals on the archipelago--about 10 New Zealand fur seals were killed--but there seems to have been little impact on the substantial bird populations in the area.
LIl
"~ "]'7 ""
317
Marine Pollution Bulletin
However, the ship was also carrying 30 000 t of fertilizer--22 000 t of di-ammonium phosphate and 8000 t of 'Triple A' Superphosphate. The fertilizer dissolved rapidly in seawater and although a slick was visible for a few days after the wreck, this soon dissipated. The amount of nitrogen released (as ammonium-N), 3850 t, is equivalent to the entire yearly load of sewage and industrial effluent entering the waters of the Perth metropolitan area (population ca 1 million); the available phosphorus released (as phosphate-P), 5800 t, is about five times the annual phosphorus load to the metropolitan region. Early monitoring data suggests that there was very rapid dispersal of nutrients. Initial monitoring, within a few days, showed high concentrations at the wreck site, falling rapidly in surface waters, with occasional higher concentrations up to 12 krn away, sometimes at depth. Patterns of oil and nutrient dispersal were in general consistent with predictions based on wind-driven water movement, allowing for bathometry. Monitoring programmes are being undertaken to assess any longer term changes. D. I. WALKER
Haven Continues to Threaten Mediterranean Oil .from the sunken tanker Haven has been washing up on the shores of the French Riviera. Shores near Nice were polluted by highly emulsified oil at the end of April. It is estimated that oil continues to leak from the stricken ship at a rate of around 300 gallons per hour. Recovery of the oil from the water is very difficult because of.its advanced emulsified state. At this time, a 400 km 2 slick was hovering off the coast of Nice and Monaco. The slick was later broken up by strong northerly winds which held it off the shores. Some beaches between Nice and St Tropez were affected, however, with 30 000 gallons of oil impacting 5 km of shoreline. The beaches were manually cleaned. About 32 km of Italian shoreline had been affected by the spill, most of which has been cleaned up. Bad weather had broken open some of the containment booms and it was this oil that had made its way to the French coast. The Haven is lying about a mile off the Italian town of Arenzano. Most of its 42 million gallon cargo has either been recovered or burnt off. The present leaks are bunker oil coming from the fuel tanks. Haven, a 232 000 t Cypriot tanker sank after exploding and spilling 10 000 t of oil into the Mediterranean (see Mar. Pollut. Bull. 22, 260). The 18-year-old ship was on its first voyage after undergoing repairs for damage suffered when it was shelled by an Iraqi frigate in 1988 during the Iraq-Iran war. According to recent reports from Lloyd's List, Keppel Shipyard Ltd, repairers of Haven, may face a claim of $84 million from the vessel's owners if they can find a causal relationship between the recent repairs and the incident. Keppel maintains that the Haven work 318
was carried out under very close supervision of the owners' superintendents. The vessel was certified as sea-worthy by the American Bureau of shipping after two extensive sea trials.
Marine Diesel Sulphur Control The European Community (EC) is set to tighten regulations governing the sulphur content of diesel fuel used by large sea-going vessels. This will follow recently issued proposals regulating sulphur content for inland and pleasure craft. The aims of the proposals are to cut the sulphur content of diesel by a third by October 1994. The present EC proposal will cut the present 0.3% level of sulphur in diesel oil to 0.2% by October 1994 and to 0.05% by October 1996. Light diesel (bunker gas oils), as used by inland vessels, pleasure boats and ships' generators is being cut to 0.2% by October 1994 and to 0.1% by October 1999. Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Luxemburg and the Netherlands already have set sulphur contents at 0.2%. Non-EC Australia and Switzerland require a 0.1% level. Britain meets a higher 0.3% level. The French government are pressing the EC to prepare further proposals to extend the sulphur restrictions to heavier shipping oils and to petrol. Sulphur content in fuel oils is partly due to the origin of the oil. Oil from the North Sea fields is low in sulphur, while crudes from Saudi Arabia, Gulf States, USSR and Mexico are high in sulphur. The sulphur content of oil is converted to sulphur dioxide during combustion which is believed to be one cause of acid rain.
SFT Raps BP Norge BP Norge has been severely reprimanded by the Norwegian State Pollution Inspectrrate for sloppy environmental practices on its 'Gyda' platform which came onstream in June last year. SFT accuse the platform of being one of the worst that it had ever inspected citing 13 violations of SFF and BP's own regulations. These included failure to notify spills, dangerous chemical waste stored in an unsatisfactory manner and inadequate procedures for monitoring emissions of pollutants. Waste water on occasions contained up to 500 times the permitted amount of oil. According to a report in the Oslo Aftenposter~ BP Norge's managing director Ola Wattne said that the company had taken steps to put things right immediately after receiving the SFT report.
Additional Oil Pollution in Gulf An oil slick 30 km long and 2.5 km wide threatened important installations at Iran's major commercial port Bandar Abbas during mid-May. At the time, the oil was