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New ‘save wetlands’ plea
Volume 12/Number 1/January 1981 however expressed fears that winds and currents would take the slick onto the eastern shores of Qatar and much cleanup equipment was provided for the emergency. Tar balls eventually washed ashore and the 25 000 km 2 slick has become the second largest in surface area after Ixtoc I. The slick is composed mainly of tar balls and sheen, the balls having a neutral bouyancy which makes protecting the water intakes at coastal power plants and desalination plants an even greater problem. According to the Oil Spill Intelligence Report, oil companies in Iran have also reported oil in Iranian territorial waters, and the spill has now become a major transfoundary pollution incident. ARAMCO reduced its response effort to conducting overflights and providing assistance to companies. Tar balls have now made some amenity beaches unsuitable for recreation, and Bahrain is continuing to combat the balls while Abu Dhabi has mounted a spill response in anticipation. Highly scattered oil has reached United Arab Emirates waters but not washed ashore.
New 'Save Wetlands' Plea "Save the World's Wetlands" - t h a t was the message at a recent conference in Sardinia organized by IUCN. Wetlands - which include marshes, estuaries and swamps- have always been thought of as wastelands and only fit to drain and turn over to building and farming. But recently they have been regarded as having an important ecological role. Wetlands have proved invaluable as fish spawning grounds and barriers to erosion. Inland marshes and lakes help regulate the water supply and keep rivers flowing through dry periods. Now 27 counties have become members of the Wetland Convention, which is also supported by many environmentalist and scientific groups.
Oil Tanker Toll Rises The tally of oil tankers involved in mishaps has soared recently following a series of worldwide accidents. The Greek tanker Stawanda was detained in Turkey following its collision with the British Nordic Faith in the Bosphorus Straits off Kavac, Turkey in November. Slight damage was caused to both vessels and the Stawanda leaked a small amount of aviation fuel which it was carrying towards the Mediterranean. The Stawanda has also been involved in another accident in 1978, when it spilled an undetermined amount of fuel oil into a Durban harbour, South Africa. Turkish authorities in Istanbul are now carrying out an official investigation into the Stawanda incident. The 39 169-DWT Greek tanker Kapetan Markos LT caught fire in the Mediterranean Sea and was abandoned with a cargo of 70 095 tons of Arabian crude oil on board. And another Greek tanker Lily H. ran aground in the Suez Canal but despite a large cargo of oil, pollution was small. The Panamanian tanker Texaco Venezuela ran aground in the Mississippi River carrying 400 000 barrels of crude oil but no damage was caused and no oil spilled. The oil was pumped into two barges and the grounding was attributed to human error.
Round-the-World News United States A crew member was killed and an undetermined amount of oil and gasoline spilled when the tanker Amoco Wisconsin and the tug Lauren Castle collided in Grand Traverse Bay off Lake Michigan. The tug sank and the tanker, carrying about 2 million gallons of gasoline, blew a cylinder head, and sustained a hole in its hull. However the gasoline was quickly transferred to a secure tank, which minimized the amount lost. The tug spilled between 100 and 200 gallons of fuel on collision and leaked oil at a rate of 1 gal h-1 since. An investigation into the collision has been started by the US Coast Guard.
Panama Scientists at Panama City have been monitoring the environmental impact of the spill from the US tanker Texaco Connecticut which spilled about 170 000 gallons of Alaskan crude oil into the Panama Canal following a rupture to its hull in the summer. The 42 000-DWT tanker was carrying the oil to Texas when it struck the rocky bank of the canal and spilled oil for about 30 min. before being discovered. Nicholas Smythe of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute told Oil Spill Intelligence Report (Vol. III, No. 44) that most of the oil had spilled into the Gatun Lake region of the canal, and that oiled crocodiles, lizards and fish had been found dead. Three species of bird had also left the area during their nesting period.
Norway Lack of food has been blamed for the high mortality rate among puffins, guillemots and razor bills in several Norwegian bird colonies nesting on coastal cliffs. About half a million puffins have died from starvation this year, and reserves of their main source of food, whitebait, are down to 1-3% of pre-1970 figures. Other causes of death are oil pollution and the fishing nets in which the birds get caught, but it has been noted before that the vagaries of their food supply is responsible for massive losses from time to time.
Hong Kong Conflicting reports about the levels of pollution in Victoria Harbour, have come from two universities. Senior lecturer at the Chinese University Biology Department, Dr. Mark Kai-keung, has called the harbour a 'cess-pool', after concluding that the natural tidal flushing action can no longer handle the large quantities of raw sewage that are pumped into it daily. Dr. Mark has said that sheltered areas on both sides of the harbour are in particular danger, and sewage out falls need to be extended. However Dr. Brian Morton, reader in Marine Pollution at the University of Hong Kong says that the harbour is only a health hazard if it is used for swimming. He agreed with Dr. Mark's overall findings but said that the situation was not critical. The reasons for this were that fishing from the harbour is illegal and very few people would swim in it. He added that he was not optimistic about any future solution to the problem and criticized the government for doing little to correct the situation. 5
New 'Save Wetlands' Plea "Save the World's Wetlands" - t h a t was the message at a recent conference in Sardinia organized by IUCN. Wetlands - which include marshes, estuaries and swamps- have always been thought of as wastelands and only fit to drain and turn over to building and farming. But recently they have been regarded as having an important ecological role. Wetlands have proved invaluable as fish spawning grounds and barriers to erosion. Inland marshes and lakes help regulate the water supply and keep rivers flowing through dry periods. Now 27 counties have become members of the Wetland Convention, which is also supported by many environmentalist and scientific groups.
Oil Tanker Toll Rises The tally of oil tankers involved in mishaps has soared recently following a series of worldwide accidents. The Greek tanker Stawanda was detained in Turkey following its collision with the British Nordic Faith in the Bosphorus Straits off Kavac, Turkey in November. Slight damage was caused to both vessels and the Stawanda leaked a small amount of aviation fuel which it was carrying towards the Mediterranean. The Stawanda has also been involved in another accident in 1978, when it spilled an undetermined amount of fuel oil into a Durban harbour, South Africa. Turkish authorities in Istanbul are now carrying out an official investigation into the Stawanda incident. The 39 169-DWT Greek tanker Kapetan Markos LT caught fire in the Mediterranean Sea and was abandoned with a cargo of 70 095 tons of Arabian crude oil on board. And another Greek tanker Lily H. ran aground in the Suez Canal but despite a large cargo of oil, pollution was small. The Panamanian tanker Texaco Venezuela ran aground in the Mississippi River carrying 400 000 barrels of crude oil but no damage was caused and no oil spilled. The oil was pumped into two barges and the grounding was attributed to human error.
Round-the-World News United States A crew member was killed and an undetermined amount of oil and gasoline spilled when the tanker Amoco Wisconsin and the tug Lauren Castle collided in Grand Traverse Bay off Lake Michigan. The tug sank and the tanker, carrying about 2 million gallons of gasoline, blew a cylinder head, and sustained a hole in its hull. However the gasoline was quickly transferred to a secure tank, which minimized the amount lost. The tug spilled between 100 and 200 gallons of fuel on collision and leaked oil at a rate of 1 gal h-1 since. An investigation into the collision has been started by the US Coast Guard.
Panama Scientists at Panama City have been monitoring the environmental impact of the spill from the US tanker Texaco Connecticut which spilled about 170 000 gallons of Alaskan crude oil into the Panama Canal following a rupture to its hull in the summer. The 42 000-DWT tanker was carrying the oil to Texas when it struck the rocky bank of the canal and spilled oil for about 30 min. before being discovered. Nicholas Smythe of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute told Oil Spill Intelligence Report (Vol. III, No. 44) that most of the oil had spilled into the Gatun Lake region of the canal, and that oiled crocodiles, lizards and fish had been found dead. Three species of bird had also left the area during their nesting period.
Norway Lack of food has been blamed for the high mortality rate among puffins, guillemots and razor bills in several Norwegian bird colonies nesting on coastal cliffs. About half a million puffins have died from starvation this year, and reserves of their main source of food, whitebait, are down to 1-3% of pre-1970 figures. Other causes of death are oil pollution and the fishing nets in which the birds get caught, but it has been noted before that the vagaries of their food supply is responsible for massive losses from time to time.
Hong Kong Conflicting reports about the levels of pollution in Victoria Harbour, have come from two universities. Senior lecturer at the Chinese University Biology Department, Dr. Mark Kai-keung, has called the harbour a 'cess-pool', after concluding that the natural tidal flushing action can no longer handle the large quantities of raw sewage that are pumped into it daily. Dr. Mark has said that sheltered areas on both sides of the harbour are in particular danger, and sewage out falls need to be extended. However Dr. Brian Morton, reader in Marine Pollution at the University of Hong Kong says that the harbour is only a health hazard if it is used for swimming. He agreed with Dr. Mark's overall findings but said that the situation was not critical. The reasons for this were that fishing from the harbour is illegal and very few people would swim in it. He added that he was not optimistic about any future solution to the problem and criticized the government for doing little to correct the situation. 5