14 November 2007 - Kerch
strait, Russian Federation — Our team on
the ground reports that mitigation efforts
were severely hampered due to more bad weather.
Kilometres of coast are soaked in oil, and
more has sunk to the seabed. An estimated
30,000 birds have died. The full extent
of the disaster has yet to be assessed.
Report from the scene
Sunday's storm broke in two a small Russian
oil tanker, the Volgoneft-139, off the Ukrainian
port of Kerch, spilling at least 1,300 tonnes
of heavy fuel oil in what a Russian official
described as an "environmental disaster".
The same storm in narrow straits between
the Black Sea and Azov Sea also sank at
least four freighters, three carrying sulphur
and one with a cargo of scrap metal. The
heavy seas also cracked the hull of another
oil tanker, but the ship was afloat.
So far, a 30km length of shoreline appears
to have been polluted with oil. Not all
of the oil has yet come ashore.
The sunken tanker, Volganeft-139, had traveled
from the Russian port of Azov and was anchored
outside Kerch in Ukraine's eastern Crimea
to ride out the weather, when high waves
broke its back at around 0445 (0145 GMT)
on Sunday, media reported.
The 1978-built tanker, designed primarily
for inland and coastal service, was carrying
4,000 tonnes of fuel oil in total when it
was hit by the storm, which has knocked
out electricity supplies to much of Crimea.
The danger
Oil spills have an immediate and obvious
impact on animals which use the surface
of the sea such as birds, seals and dolphins;
birds in particular are among the most obvious
and serious victims.
Oil is especially dangerous for marine
fauna - damaging respiratory organs, poisoning
through ingestion and robbing fur and feathers
of insulating and buoyancy properties. It
can contaminate gills of fish, which leads
to suffocation. Bottom pollution destroys
spawning grounds and consequently hinders
fish spawning and reproduction.
As the migratory season is now ongoing
it is particularly sensitive to the migratory
birds in the area. Once the oil is on the
coast then there are impacts on the coastal
and shoreline marine communities and any
possible shallow water nursery areas.
Experience from other oil spills from around
the world illustrates that impacts can be
long term dependent on the type of oil,
the techniques used for mitigation, the
type of ecosystem impacted. One of the most
studied oil spills was that from the Exxon
Valdez which ran aground in Prince William
Sound, Alaska in March 1989. Some of the
oil from that spill can still be found over
15 years later on some beaches in the Prince
William Sound.
After a spill
When oil enters the sea, part of it evaporates
(light fractions), especially during hot
weather. Part of it sinks (heavy fractions)
and the rest spreads over water surface.
The light and heavy fractions cannot be
dealt with.
Booms are commonly employed to prevent
oil from spreading over the sea surface
of affected areas. Skimmers are then used
to suck up the oil which is pumps into a
receiving tank. In this case, poor weather
conditions made these techniques ineffective.
Even in ideal conditions, with equipment
and experts deployed immediately, no more
than 15-20 per cent of the oil spilled can
usually be recovered in this way.
Once onshore, various mechanical removal
techniques are involved. This varies from
washing rocks, scraping rocks, removing
surface sediment and, for some shores, water
flushing. But some cleaning techniques can
also lead to damage. In highly sensitive
areas, vigorous clean-up techniques can
exacerbate damage. Essentially the techniques
deployed depend on the type of shoreline
(rock, shingle, sand, mud, coral, mangrove,
estuary), and the type and consistency of
the oil.
Our small team on the ground will continue
to monitor the situation. As an organization,
we have the logistical capacity to bear
witness and push for swift action, but don't
have the manpower or expertise to do large-scale
mitigation work.
Longer term
There are some obvious safety improvements
that should be made in the short term: Clean
up should continue as much as technically
feasible; New rules and regulations should
be put in place; Tankers intended for inland
navigation should not be used for marine
transport; And anyone at fault for this
spill should be held accountable. However,
the reality is that oil spills will keep
happening as long as we have oil tankers.
One solution is to reduce our dependence
on polluting energy sources - like oil,
coal and nuclear. Another is to declare
certain areas marine reserves - protect
them from extractive uses like fishing and
oil drilling, and prevent tankers from entering
the most sensitive areas.
