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Netherlands
Volume 32/Number 3/March 1996
Spill of Heating Oil Hits Rhode Island Coast On 19th January the tug Scandia, which was towing a 340 ft tank barge North Cape, caught fire off Point Judith, Rhode Island. The six crew members had to abandon ship and were rescued by the US Coast Guard. A few hours later, despite attempts to anchor the barge, both the tug and the barge ran aground on Moonstone Beach, 900 m off a nature reserve. The barge was carrying 4 million gallons of heating oil and over 800 000 gallons of this escaped into the sea over the next three days. Operations to offload the cargo and refloat the barge were hampered for several days by the weather but eventually on 26th January the barge was removed from the scene and inspectors were able to investigate the damage. In attempts to limit the spill's effect on the environment booms were laid to protect saltmarshes and other shore areas and skimming equipment was deployed offshore to recover some of the oil. The spill from the North Cape was the worst in Rhode Island's history and at one point it stretched 10 miles long by 5 miles wide. Patches of oil of varying concentrations were thought to have spread over a 100 square mile area. There were reports of 12000 dead lobsters being found along a stretch of coast and a fishing ban and monitoring at fish markets were put in place. Over 43 000 pounds of lobsters and 9000 pounds of crabs were impounded at processing plants for contamination testing. The spill also resulted in oiled birds and 135 bird deaths were reported. However, the lightness of the oil and dispersion by wind and waves meant that the impacts on the coastline were not as severe as might have been feared. HAMISH MAIR
was based on 65 samples covering the commercially important fish and shellfish species collected in 1995 to assess mercury concentrations in fish in Irish waters.
Thailand Oil has spilled along a 10 km stretch of coastline between Rayong town and Map Ta Phud municipality, the oil is spreading to Sai Thong beach. The source of the oil was not known but it is suspected that it had originated from some nearby factories. Visiting the scene of the spill, the industry chief of Rayong province, Mr Prakob Dejdee, said that it was not certain that the oil had come from factories in the area, however it would be necessary to get rid of it quickly to prevent damage to the environment. Local MP, Mr Piya Pitutecha, who had accompanied the industry chief said that the spillage represented a threat to the environment and to tourism and that those responsible should be punished severely.
Netherlands Mussels imported from Ireland are thought to have been the cause of two outbreaks of Diarrhetic Shellfish Poisoning (DSP) that were reported in the Netherlands last year. Fourteen people were affected, some of whom were hospitalized. It is believed the culprits came from a 100 kg batch of Irish mussels mixed with local Zeeland produce before going on sale. Apparently the Irish mussels were harvested in a remote part of a bay away from the regular sampling area of Ireland's DSP monitoring programme and had thus escaped detection. The contaminated batch had also slipped past the Dutch veterinary inspection service.
Russia
News-in-Brief USA EXXON Corp. is to be reimbursed $300 million for costs associated with the Exxon Valdez oil spill. The reimbursement came in settlement of the oil company's suit against the underwriters, led by Lloyds of London, to recover part of its expenses as cargo owner in the 1989 Exxon Valdez tanker oil spill in Prince William Sound, Alaska. Exxon has other unresolved and substantial spill related claims with the underwriters which are aimed at offsetting more of the massive costs of the accident, including a $2.5 billion dollar clean up bill.
Eire The Fisheries Research Centre of the Irish Department of the Marine in County Dublin has reported that mercury levels in Irish fishery products are low and well within the maximum limits set by the EC. The report
300 tonnes of crude oil spilled into the frozen Giaga river after would-be thieves broke a safety valve in a pipeline to get at the oil. The thieves had tried to siphon off the oil, but a valve ruptured sending oil spurting onto the river. The incident could be potentially disastrous since the site of the spill is only 12 km from the Laba river which flows into the Kuban and then into the Sea of Azov. There are reports that booms placed downstream had caught the oil and that work is underway remove it.
Japan The Japanese Sea and Ocean Foundation have conducted a test cruise to sound out the possibility of establishing a new shipping route to Europe via the Arctic Ocean. The private foundation chartered a Russian cargo vessel last summer which sailed from Japan to Norway, taking the northern route. The 13 000 km voyage also involved a study of the adverse effects of ice on the ship. It is estimated that voyages to Europe via the Arctic Ocean would normally halve the time taken via the Suez Canal. 253
Spill of Heating Oil Hits Rhode Island Coast On 19th January the tug Scandia, which was towing a 340 ft tank barge North Cape, caught fire off Point Judith, Rhode Island. The six crew members had to abandon ship and were rescued by the US Coast Guard. A few hours later, despite attempts to anchor the barge, both the tug and the barge ran aground on Moonstone Beach, 900 m off a nature reserve. The barge was carrying 4 million gallons of heating oil and over 800 000 gallons of this escaped into the sea over the next three days. Operations to offload the cargo and refloat the barge were hampered for several days by the weather but eventually on 26th January the barge was removed from the scene and inspectors were able to investigate the damage. In attempts to limit the spill's effect on the environment booms were laid to protect saltmarshes and other shore areas and skimming equipment was deployed offshore to recover some of the oil. The spill from the North Cape was the worst in Rhode Island's history and at one point it stretched 10 miles long by 5 miles wide. Patches of oil of varying concentrations were thought to have spread over a 100 square mile area. There were reports of 12000 dead lobsters being found along a stretch of coast and a fishing ban and monitoring at fish markets were put in place. Over 43 000 pounds of lobsters and 9000 pounds of crabs were impounded at processing plants for contamination testing. The spill also resulted in oiled birds and 135 bird deaths were reported. However, the lightness of the oil and dispersion by wind and waves meant that the impacts on the coastline were not as severe as might have been feared. HAMISH MAIR
was based on 65 samples covering the commercially important fish and shellfish species collected in 1995 to assess mercury concentrations in fish in Irish waters.
Thailand Oil has spilled along a 10 km stretch of coastline between Rayong town and Map Ta Phud municipality, the oil is spreading to Sai Thong beach. The source of the oil was not known but it is suspected that it had originated from some nearby factories. Visiting the scene of the spill, the industry chief of Rayong province, Mr Prakob Dejdee, said that it was not certain that the oil had come from factories in the area, however it would be necessary to get rid of it quickly to prevent damage to the environment. Local MP, Mr Piya Pitutecha, who had accompanied the industry chief said that the spillage represented a threat to the environment and to tourism and that those responsible should be punished severely.
Netherlands Mussels imported from Ireland are thought to have been the cause of two outbreaks of Diarrhetic Shellfish Poisoning (DSP) that were reported in the Netherlands last year. Fourteen people were affected, some of whom were hospitalized. It is believed the culprits came from a 100 kg batch of Irish mussels mixed with local Zeeland produce before going on sale. Apparently the Irish mussels were harvested in a remote part of a bay away from the regular sampling area of Ireland's DSP monitoring programme and had thus escaped detection. The contaminated batch had also slipped past the Dutch veterinary inspection service.
Russia
News-in-Brief USA EXXON Corp. is to be reimbursed $300 million for costs associated with the Exxon Valdez oil spill. The reimbursement came in settlement of the oil company's suit against the underwriters, led by Lloyds of London, to recover part of its expenses as cargo owner in the 1989 Exxon Valdez tanker oil spill in Prince William Sound, Alaska. Exxon has other unresolved and substantial spill related claims with the underwriters which are aimed at offsetting more of the massive costs of the accident, including a $2.5 billion dollar clean up bill.
Eire The Fisheries Research Centre of the Irish Department of the Marine in County Dublin has reported that mercury levels in Irish fishery products are low and well within the maximum limits set by the EC. The report
300 tonnes of crude oil spilled into the frozen Giaga river after would-be thieves broke a safety valve in a pipeline to get at the oil. The thieves had tried to siphon off the oil, but a valve ruptured sending oil spurting onto the river. The incident could be potentially disastrous since the site of the spill is only 12 km from the Laba river which flows into the Kuban and then into the Sea of Azov. There are reports that booms placed downstream had caught the oil and that work is underway remove it.
Japan The Japanese Sea and Ocean Foundation have conducted a test cruise to sound out the possibility of establishing a new shipping route to Europe via the Arctic Ocean. The private foundation chartered a Russian cargo vessel last summer which sailed from Japan to Norway, taking the northern route. The 13 000 km voyage also involved a study of the adverse effects of ice on the ship. It is estimated that voyages to Europe via the Arctic Ocean would normally halve the time taken via the Suez Canal. 253