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Norwegians fear Russian nuclear waste incident
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
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