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IMO adopts draft guidelines on ballast water exchange
Volume M/Number l I/November 1997
Number of Large Oil Spills Decreases Statistics for 1996 released by International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation (ITOPF) show that for the second year in a row there have been no more than 23 oil spill incidents where more than 7 metric tonnes was lost from tankers. However, there was a large rise in the actual oil spilt--from 9000 tonnes in 1995 to 80000 in 1996. This increase was almost entirely due to the Sea Empress accident off Milford Haven when 72 000 tonnes was lost. Even this was less than half the annual average of 197000 tons which ITOPF have recorded over the years. The actual incidence of oil spills was therefore continuing to be low--less than half the annual average for the 1970-96 span since when ITOPF have been keeping close records. The number of tanker oil spills has also dropped over the years--23 on average in the 1970-1980 period, 8 on average in the 1981-1996 period. The data shows that a few very large spills have been responsible for a high proportion of the total spillage over the years. The Sea Empress at 90% of the year's total is a recent example, but the Spanish tanker Castillo de Bellver accounted for 62% of 1983's spillage, and the Iberian tanker A B T Summer for 60% of the total in 1991. Between 1970 and 1996 most of the oil spilled came from routine operations. These include loading, discharging and bunkering and they generally occur in ports or at oil terminals. 93% of these spills resulted in less than 7 tonnes being lost while only 60°,/0 of the accidental spills; collisions, fire, hull failures and explosions; were for less than 7 tonnes. They concluded that accidents tend to give rise to larger spills than operational incidents.
Large Fine for Oil Polluter A £35 000 fine has been levied on a Norwegian tanker owner for polluting the entrance to the Humber River near Grimsby in January 1997. 20 metric tons of crude oil was spilled from the 60 719 tonne Tore Knutsen when the ship was otttoading the cargo at the Tetney oil loading buoy. A fire broke out in the engine room and the crew were forced to stop the offloading very suddenly and this led to the spillage. In spite of being so close to the Tetney Nature Reserve, where 9000 Arctic birds were present, only 250 birds were ultimately oiled. The main slick ended up on Cleesthorpe Beach south of Grimsby. The case had been brought before the Magistrate's court in Grimsby by the UK Coast-
guard Agency's Marine Pollution Control Unit (MPCU). Courts are expected to take a strong approach against companies which produce oil discharges such as this and the maximum fine has been raised from £50 000 to £250 000.
Norwegians fear Russian Nuclear Waste Incident Norwegian scientists fear a potential major nuclear accident in the Russian Arctic according to a recent article in the New Scientist. An action plan launched by the Norwegian government in 1995 has not met with the co-operation needed from the Russian government and concern is mounting. The Kola Peninsula off the Northwest coast of Russia has the highest accumulation of nuclear waste known anywhere in the world. 80 nuclear submarines have been scrapped off its coast, at least half of which have their fuel rods still inside. Onshore tanks and boats contain thousands of tonnes of different types of nuclear waste. Norwegian nuclear safety experts have also tried to visit the Andreeva Bay depot, only 50 kilometres form the Norwegian border, where 23 000 spent fuel assemblies are being stored. The facilities there are now full and there are inadequate secure railway containers to transport the rods to the nearest processing plant at Chelyabinsk. The vicepresident of the nuclear icebreaker fleet, Vyacheslav Ruksha, has claimed that the radioactive pollution is constantly leaking into the sea. Russia, Norway and the US have agreed to share the cost of new carriages, but the agreement is yet to be signed in Moscow.
IMO adopts Draft Guidelines on Ballast Water Exchange The 40th Session of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) resulted in further progress being made on the development of its "Guidelines for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water to Minimise the Transfer of Harmful Aquatic Organisms and Pathogens". Prepared by the Ballast Water Working Group, the major aims of the Guidelines are to assist, (under technical and scientific guidance) governments, ship masters, operators and owners, and port authorities in minimizing the risk of harmful aquatic organism introductions. The two main aims of the guidelines are seen as a reduction of environmental damage coupled with better ship safety measures. The environmental perspective taken by the Working Group is illustrated by the incorporation of the UN's precautionary approach and the objectives of the Convention on 853
Marine Pollution Bulletin Biological Diversity 1992. The importance of ship safety is outlined in an appendix giving the precautions to be taken by the ships' master and crew during ballast water exchange procedures. There is also an emphasis placed on promoting an awareness of the problem through guidelines on Training and Education of crews and masters, to recording and reporting procedures for port states and ships. The Ballast Water Management plan is seen as the main instrument to be utilized by the port States and the ships, although an emphasis has also been placed on the promotion of emerging technology used in ballast water exchange procedures and equipment. Further issues incorporated into the guidelines include the minimization of the uptake of harmful aquatic organisms, pathogens and sediments; port reception and treatment facilities; the removal of ballast sediment on a timely basis; ballast water management options and; future considerations in relation to ballast water exchange including research needs, long term evaluation of safety aspects and ballast system designs. The further development of these Guidelines into legally binding provisions for an annex of MARPOL 73/78 will be continued, and will consequently be put forward for consideration and adoption by the IMO in the year 2000. TIM WILKINS
Developments Threaten Unique Marine Habitats Caves teeming with unusual marine life are under threat from developments at island holiday resorts from as far apart as Hawaii and Majorca. Geoff Boxshall from the Natural History Museum in London explained the significance of the caves at the recent meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science in Leeds. The anchialine caves formed from volcanic tubes or limestone have been separated from the main seas for thousands and sometimes millions of years and they house unique collections of animals which could be classified as living fossils. Hundreds of new species have been identified within them, many new genera and even a new class of arthropods. The richness of these caves has yet to be fully explored and it is believed that there may be many caves yet to be discovered. Recent construction work on Majorca led to the discovery of a new cave where already numerous new species have been identified. It has since been declared a nature reserve by the Spanish government. A specialized copepod found beneath the island of Bermuda has been compared in importance to Archaeopteryx, the fossilized bird ancestor. Concern has therefore met the proposals to fill in the Bermudan cave to build a golf course. In other resorts sewage is pumped directly underground and reaches the caves where its accumula854
tion may eventually destroy the ecosystems there. Elsewhere groundwater removal to supply the large tourist influx is leading to leakage of sea water into the caves which could alter their salinity and disrupt the ecosystems. PHILIPPA AMBROSE
Algarve Mussels Declared Clean An increase in health problems associated with eating unclean seafoods, usually mussels, has prompted an investigation by the Portuguese Institute, Ipimar (Maritime Investigation). However, scientists looking into the problems, which are associated with the presence of biotoxins and bacteria in shell fish, have not been able to find anything to be concerned about and have declared the Sagres mussel and the white mussel from Quarteira safe to eat. Nevertheless, the new EC regulations and national legislation are now requiring very high levels of detoxification before mussels can be marketed. The Formosa Estuary and Alvor which represent the part of the lagoons where most sea food production takes place does not have a cooling system and breeders and local traders have found that this reduces the life expectancy of the mussels for selling and hence their financial viability. However, in spite of all the regulations which are causing problems for the industry, some local traders appear unaffected or unaware of the impact of the legislation and it is still possible to buy mussels from street vendors who do not appear to have changed their own practices.
The Black Sea Watched Over by Spiritual Leaders and Scientists A 10 day cruise highlighting the environmental crises threatening the Black Sea took place in September. The event involved 400 participants and was initiated by the head of the Eastern Orthodox Church, Bartholomew I from Istanbul and the President of the European Commission, Jacques Santer. Religious leaders, scientists, businesspeople, governments officials and nongovernmental organizations all took part in what was essentially a discussion of "The Black Sea in Crisis". Six main countries were held largely responsible for contamination of the sea--Turkey, Georgia, Russia, Ukraine, Romania and Bulgaria as well as all the material washed in from the River Danube. Another 10 countries to the north also discharge their wastes into the sea. It is in this area that the sea is connected
Number of Large Oil Spills Decreases Statistics for 1996 released by International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation (ITOPF) show that for the second year in a row there have been no more than 23 oil spill incidents where more than 7 metric tonnes was lost from tankers. However, there was a large rise in the actual oil spilt--from 9000 tonnes in 1995 to 80000 in 1996. This increase was almost entirely due to the Sea Empress accident off Milford Haven when 72 000 tonnes was lost. Even this was less than half the annual average of 197000 tons which ITOPF have recorded over the years. The actual incidence of oil spills was therefore continuing to be low--less than half the annual average for the 1970-96 span since when ITOPF have been keeping close records. The number of tanker oil spills has also dropped over the years--23 on average in the 1970-1980 period, 8 on average in the 1981-1996 period. The data shows that a few very large spills have been responsible for a high proportion of the total spillage over the years. The Sea Empress at 90% of the year's total is a recent example, but the Spanish tanker Castillo de Bellver accounted for 62% of 1983's spillage, and the Iberian tanker A B T Summer for 60% of the total in 1991. Between 1970 and 1996 most of the oil spilled came from routine operations. These include loading, discharging and bunkering and they generally occur in ports or at oil terminals. 93% of these spills resulted in less than 7 tonnes being lost while only 60°,/0 of the accidental spills; collisions, fire, hull failures and explosions; were for less than 7 tonnes. They concluded that accidents tend to give rise to larger spills than operational incidents.
Large Fine for Oil Polluter A £35 000 fine has been levied on a Norwegian tanker owner for polluting the entrance to the Humber River near Grimsby in January 1997. 20 metric tons of crude oil was spilled from the 60 719 tonne Tore Knutsen when the ship was otttoading the cargo at the Tetney oil loading buoy. A fire broke out in the engine room and the crew were forced to stop the offloading very suddenly and this led to the spillage. In spite of being so close to the Tetney Nature Reserve, where 9000 Arctic birds were present, only 250 birds were ultimately oiled. The main slick ended up on Cleesthorpe Beach south of Grimsby. The case had been brought before the Magistrate's court in Grimsby by the UK Coast-
guard Agency's Marine Pollution Control Unit (MPCU). Courts are expected to take a strong approach against companies which produce oil discharges such as this and the maximum fine has been raised from £50 000 to £250 000.
Norwegians fear Russian Nuclear Waste Incident Norwegian scientists fear a potential major nuclear accident in the Russian Arctic according to a recent article in the New Scientist. An action plan launched by the Norwegian government in 1995 has not met with the co-operation needed from the Russian government and concern is mounting. The Kola Peninsula off the Northwest coast of Russia has the highest accumulation of nuclear waste known anywhere in the world. 80 nuclear submarines have been scrapped off its coast, at least half of which have their fuel rods still inside. Onshore tanks and boats contain thousands of tonnes of different types of nuclear waste. Norwegian nuclear safety experts have also tried to visit the Andreeva Bay depot, only 50 kilometres form the Norwegian border, where 23 000 spent fuel assemblies are being stored. The facilities there are now full and there are inadequate secure railway containers to transport the rods to the nearest processing plant at Chelyabinsk. The vicepresident of the nuclear icebreaker fleet, Vyacheslav Ruksha, has claimed that the radioactive pollution is constantly leaking into the sea. Russia, Norway and the US have agreed to share the cost of new carriages, but the agreement is yet to be signed in Moscow.
IMO adopts Draft Guidelines on Ballast Water Exchange The 40th Session of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) resulted in further progress being made on the development of its "Guidelines for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water to Minimise the Transfer of Harmful Aquatic Organisms and Pathogens". Prepared by the Ballast Water Working Group, the major aims of the Guidelines are to assist, (under technical and scientific guidance) governments, ship masters, operators and owners, and port authorities in minimizing the risk of harmful aquatic organism introductions. The two main aims of the guidelines are seen as a reduction of environmental damage coupled with better ship safety measures. The environmental perspective taken by the Working Group is illustrated by the incorporation of the UN's precautionary approach and the objectives of the Convention on 853
Marine Pollution Bulletin Biological Diversity 1992. The importance of ship safety is outlined in an appendix giving the precautions to be taken by the ships' master and crew during ballast water exchange procedures. There is also an emphasis placed on promoting an awareness of the problem through guidelines on Training and Education of crews and masters, to recording and reporting procedures for port states and ships. The Ballast Water Management plan is seen as the main instrument to be utilized by the port States and the ships, although an emphasis has also been placed on the promotion of emerging technology used in ballast water exchange procedures and equipment. Further issues incorporated into the guidelines include the minimization of the uptake of harmful aquatic organisms, pathogens and sediments; port reception and treatment facilities; the removal of ballast sediment on a timely basis; ballast water management options and; future considerations in relation to ballast water exchange including research needs, long term evaluation of safety aspects and ballast system designs. The further development of these Guidelines into legally binding provisions for an annex of MARPOL 73/78 will be continued, and will consequently be put forward for consideration and adoption by the IMO in the year 2000. TIM WILKINS
Developments Threaten Unique Marine Habitats Caves teeming with unusual marine life are under threat from developments at island holiday resorts from as far apart as Hawaii and Majorca. Geoff Boxshall from the Natural History Museum in London explained the significance of the caves at the recent meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science in Leeds. The anchialine caves formed from volcanic tubes or limestone have been separated from the main seas for thousands and sometimes millions of years and they house unique collections of animals which could be classified as living fossils. Hundreds of new species have been identified within them, many new genera and even a new class of arthropods. The richness of these caves has yet to be fully explored and it is believed that there may be many caves yet to be discovered. Recent construction work on Majorca led to the discovery of a new cave where already numerous new species have been identified. It has since been declared a nature reserve by the Spanish government. A specialized copepod found beneath the island of Bermuda has been compared in importance to Archaeopteryx, the fossilized bird ancestor. Concern has therefore met the proposals to fill in the Bermudan cave to build a golf course. In other resorts sewage is pumped directly underground and reaches the caves where its accumula854
tion may eventually destroy the ecosystems there. Elsewhere groundwater removal to supply the large tourist influx is leading to leakage of sea water into the caves which could alter their salinity and disrupt the ecosystems. PHILIPPA AMBROSE
Algarve Mussels Declared Clean An increase in health problems associated with eating unclean seafoods, usually mussels, has prompted an investigation by the Portuguese Institute, Ipimar (Maritime Investigation). However, scientists looking into the problems, which are associated with the presence of biotoxins and bacteria in shell fish, have not been able to find anything to be concerned about and have declared the Sagres mussel and the white mussel from Quarteira safe to eat. Nevertheless, the new EC regulations and national legislation are now requiring very high levels of detoxification before mussels can be marketed. The Formosa Estuary and Alvor which represent the part of the lagoons where most sea food production takes place does not have a cooling system and breeders and local traders have found that this reduces the life expectancy of the mussels for selling and hence their financial viability. However, in spite of all the regulations which are causing problems for the industry, some local traders appear unaffected or unaware of the impact of the legislation and it is still possible to buy mussels from street vendors who do not appear to have changed their own practices.
The Black Sea Watched Over by Spiritual Leaders and Scientists A 10 day cruise highlighting the environmental crises threatening the Black Sea took place in September. The event involved 400 participants and was initiated by the head of the Eastern Orthodox Church, Bartholomew I from Istanbul and the President of the European Commission, Jacques Santer. Religious leaders, scientists, businesspeople, governments officials and nongovernmental organizations all took part in what was essentially a discussion of "The Black Sea in Crisis". Six main countries were held largely responsible for contamination of the sea--Turkey, Georgia, Russia, Ukraine, Romania and Bulgaria as well as all the material washed in from the River Danube. Another 10 countries to the north also discharge their wastes into the sea. It is in this area that the sea is connected