Today we inaugurate a new series of articles that will become a regular appointment for the next Thursdays:
Today we inaugurate a new series of articles that will become a regular appointment for the next Thursdays: Save Our Ocean. We will deal with any type of environmental issue related to the nautical sector: from accidents to non-profit organizations, through protected places, risks that can be run and more technical issues related to the environment.
Taking a cue from the incident between two boats occurred between Corsica and Tuscany and the danger escaped (perhaps) of an oil disaster in the center of one of the most important marine sanctuaries in the world, the Pelagos one, today we will talk about the 16 most serious oil disaster in history. Just to understand how much we have risked.
Before starting, we define that with oil disaster it refers to the environmental pollution caused by the release of large quantities of oil in the ocean. In fact, crude oil has a lower specific weight than water and when dispersed in the sea initially forms an oxygen-impermeable film on the surface. This, in addition to causing physical and toxic damage to the macrofauna, causes an anaerobiosis that kills plankton. The subsequent precipitation on the seabed also replicates the effect on the organisms that live at these depths. Reclamation of the damaged environment can take months, if not years.
The sixteen oil disasters that follow are among the most serious in human history and are ordered from the oldest to the most recent. Although we can denote a decrease in the frequency of serious accidents, it must however be added that the annual average of oil poured into the ocean still stands at around 4 million tons, of which 600,000 in the Mediterranean alone. A huge figure.
Lakeview Gusher - Kern Country, California - 1911
Let's start with what, despite being on the ground, was certainly the oldest and biggest oil disaster in history. The term Lakeview Gusher Number One refers to an uncontrolled spill from a pressure drilling tower from a reservoir in California. The machines of the time did not have the safety technologies of today and they could not stop the eruption that generated a real river of oil that permeated land and sea at par. This lasted 18 months for a total of 1 million and 230.000 tons of crude poured into the surrounding area.
Amoco Cadiz - Brittany, France - 1978
On March 16 the Amoco Cadiz, a 330-meter Liberian supertanker, crashes off the Breton coast for critical failure at the helm. The accident causes the dispersion of 223.000 tons of crude into the sea and affects 150 km of coastline. The Amoco Cadiz is the oldest major oil disaster that occurred directly at sea and also has the sad record of being the deadliest in marine life history. The backlash was also enormous for the Shell, the company to which the cargo was destined, which was heavily boycotted above all because it did not commit itself in the remediation of the contaminated areas.
Ixtoc I - Gulf of Mexico - 1979
Just over a year later, on 3 June, the Mexican oil rig Ixtoc I was engaged in some exploration operations 600 miles off the coast of Texas when, due to an error in maneuvers, the platform caught fire and begins to disperse oil into the sea. The containment operations lasted 9 months and the loss is between 454.000 and 480.000 tons. Until 2010 it was the accidental oil disaster with the most abundant spill ever recorded.
Atlantic Empress / Aegean Captain - Trinidad and Tobago - 1979
One month later, on July 19th, due to a tropical storm, the Greek tanker Atlantic Empress collided with the Aegean Captain, another tanker. Both boats report very serious damage, but if the second is promptly secured, the same does not happen for the first one that a week after the accident will continue to burn. The result is the largest oil disaster linked to a collision between two vessels with a total of 287.000 tons of oil released into the sea.
Nowruz - Persian Gulf - 1983
On February 10th a tanker collided with the oil rig Nowruz, a short distance from the Iranian coast. The collision provokes a first small leak that is however worsened by taking place in the middle of the conflict between Iran and Iraq. In fact, during the containment operations, the Iraqi aviation attacks the site causing a huge fire of the crude oil. What's more, the military occupy the site and block any kind of intervention. The loss is only stopped in September, but in the meantime it has caused the dispersion of 260.000 tons of oil.
Castillo de Bellver - Saldanha Bay, South Africa - 1983
On 6 August the Spanish tanker Castillo de Bellver catches fire for reasons still unknown while sailing off South Africa, in an extremely sensitive area in terms of flora and fauna. The boat explodes breaking into two and begins to sink releasing 252.000 tons of crude oil. The environmental and economic damage could be enormous, but this oil disaster has the distinction of being the first event in which the immediate intervention of law enforcement agencies and volunteers managed to avoid a catastrophe far more serious than the initial one, limiting the damage to a minimum to the local ecosystem.
Odyssey - Nova Scotia, Canada - 1988
On 10 November the tanker Odyssey (not to be confused with the oil platform that will be the victim of an explosion the same year) finds itself in the middle of a storm that causes shortly after an explosion that breaks in two the boat. The adverse weather conditions cause the delay of the recovery operations. 132.000 tons of crude are dispersed at sea, a considerable figure considering how little this incident is known.
Exxon Valdez - Prince William Sound, Alaska - 1989
On March 24th the tanker Exxon Valdez was crossing the strait, full of oil, when, for a series of misunderstandings in the command line, there was a too slow change of course that led the ship to hit the Bligh Reef. The loss was "only" 37,000 tons, but it was enough to pollute 1900 km of extremely sensitive coastline for the local ecosystem. Thousands of animals perished in the following months and the damages were such that the government of the United States was forced to revise the safety requirements of oil tankers and to allocate costs of cleaning operations on the coast to oil companies (approximately 2 billion dollars). This incident is still today considered one of the biggest disasters for the global ecosystem.
METSTRADE is the world's largest trade fair for equipment, materials, and systems for recreational....
Our team is ready for the 63rd Genoa International Boat Show from 21 to 26 September.
METSTRADE IS the world’s largest trade exhibition of leisure marine equipment, materials....
For over 30 years Tecnoseal has been present at the Genoa International Boat Show, whose 2022....
Il 2021 ci vede di nuovo presenziare ai principali eventi mondiali dedicati alla nautica e....
.jpg)
NACA family is growing! Tecnoseal is glad to announce that new products have been introduced....
Anche per il 2020 Tecnoseal ha preso parte come espositore al Salone Nautico Internazionale....
Tecnoseal is pleased to announce the arrival of the MY BOAT QR CODE. Born from the union between....
