Pollution protection for Malta

Volume 21/Number 6/June 1990 own oil spill arrangements, these will now be supplemented by the availability of six special self-contained oil spill response units. Since 1974, UKOOA have held oil spill equipment and dispersants for use by industry members. However, after the Piper Alpha disaster, when 40 t of dispersant was used to deal with the oil leaking from wellheads, problems were found with the packaging and deployment of the equipment. This was the first time that it had been used offshore. The UKOOA Oil Spill Working Group examined the issues and recommended that the equipment should be containerized. The new response units have been manufactured by Fergusons Seacabs Ltd and are fitted with the m;cessary equipment for dispersing oil spills at sea. They are completely transportable and contain lattice booms, high capacity pumps and a workshop area. They each have the capacity to disperse 7000 t of oil. It is hoped that these units will be safer and more efficient to operate and that they will provide long term protection.

Oil Slick Swiftly Dispersed Prompt anti-pollution action saved an area of north west Scotland from the danger of possible oil pollution after a threatening slick was reported in the area. A Bulgarian stern-trawling fish factory ship the Kondor struck rocks off the Isle of Skye in late April. After the crew had been rescued it was taken in tow by the mfv Agate from Stornaway but sank in 100 m of water and began to leak oil. 80 000 1 of light diesel oil and 5000-6000 1 of lubricating oil were thought to be on board and a 5 km long oil slick quickly formed. Within 2 hours countermeasures were under way as an anti-pollution aircraft and the fishery patrol vessel Sulisker started laying dispersant. One of the main concerns was to prevent the slick from damaging several fish farms in the area. By the next morning the Marine Pollution Control Unit reported that only rainbow sheens were in the area and that the danger was passing. Their second surveillance flight 2 hours later found that the sheen was rapidly breaking up and that the slick had been contained. The entire operation from the sinking of the ship to the dispersing of the slick took about 16 hours. PHIL1PPA AMBROSE

Pollution Protection for Malta The European Commission is to provide 2 400 000 ECUs to pay for equipment to combat oil pollution in Malta. The equipment is part of a scheme to provide Malta with an institutional structure by setting up an oil pollution control unit within the Ministry for Education for the Environment and the Arts, and establishing anti-pollution facilities. These would include floating dams, mechanical scooping equipment, tanks, spraying equipment, and dispersants, The Maltese archipelago is located on the route of many oil tankers and at present the region is poorly equipped to deal with a major oil spill incident. Such a

spill would produce serious ecological results. In addition, there could be serious economic consequences since 70% of Malta's drinking water comes from desalination plants, and tourism (which relies heavily on attractive beaches) accounts for 20% of Malta's gross national product. The funds for the scheme are being drawn from resources left over in the second Financial Protocol (1985-88) the E E C / M a l t a Association Agreement. This Protocol had resources of 29,5 million ECUs; 19 million as European Investment Bank loans and 10.5 million as grants from the E E C budget.

Philippine Oil Spill A 10 km stretch of coastline at Bataan in the Philippines was contaminated by an oil spill when the Liberty Bell Trading tanker Fernando sank off Limay. The ship was chartered by Caltex Philippines, an affiliate of Caltex Petroleum of Texas. The ship released 200 000 l of bunker fuel and the resulting 25 cm deep slick has damaged the fishing grounds of at least 400 families along this coast. Efforts to clean up the spill are continuing but little compensation has yet been paid to those affected. The Philippines have no specific authority responsible for such events nor does it yet have any appropriate legislation. A number of Congress and Senate committees as well as non-government run groups are investigating the spill. One of the Senate groups, the House Committee on the Environment and Natural Resources, held a month long enquiry into the incident. This has resulted in a number of allegations being made against Caltex. Although the spill occurred on 25 January it is alleged that it was not reported until 1 February. It is also alleged that the vessel was dilapidated, uninsured and unsafe as it had holes in it which caused its eventual sinking. Caltex consider the charges to be very serious as they amount to criminal negligence and they state that in hiring the Trading Bell tanker they met the requirements of the law. Caltex are attending the hearings but Liberty Bell Trading have not yet made an appearance. The final report is expected to be followed by new legislation to deal with oil spills. PHILIPPA AMBROSE

Green Expenses for Shipowners Environmental laws will push up the cost of ship repairs according to a recent report in Lloyds List. New legislation limiting repair activities such as washing down, blasting, coating, and waste discharges will soon force changes on European ship yards which could make them uncompetitive. The main problem centres on the use of tributyl tin (TBT) in antifouting systems, although problems with volatile organic compounds and solvent levels look as though they are also set to become a major issue. According to the report, Dutch ship repair yards have 265