Oil Spill in the North Sea

Oil spills happen. The most likely reason an oil spill occurs is when an oil tanker’s equipment has failed causing oil to leak into the ocean. If the equipment breaks down, the tanker may get stuck on shallow land. When they start to drive the tanker again, they can put a hole in the tanker causing it to leak oil.

Other oil spills may occur when countries are at war; one country may decide to dump gallons of oil into the other country’s oceans. Terrorists may cause an oil spill because they will dump oil into a country’s ocean. Many terrorists will do this because they are trying to get the country’s attention. Illegal dumps also can happen when people decide they do not want to spend money on decomposing their waste oil. Natural disasters (like hurricanes) may cause an oil spill, too. The winds from a hurricane can cause an oil tanker to flip over, pouring oil out.

The affect oil spills have on animals is tremendous. Birds die from oil spills if their feathers are covered in oil. Animals may die because they get hypothermia, causing their body temperature to be really low. Oil may also cause the death of an animal by entering the animal’s lungs or liver. Oil also can kill an animal by blinding it causing it to not be aware of predators. Oil spills sometimes are the reason for animals becoming endangered and instinct.

There are many ways to stop the spread of oil in the ocean. Workers can place a boom around the tanker that is spilling oil. Booms collect the oil off the water. A boom may be placed somewhere before an oil spill. They can be placed around an entrance to the ocean, like a stream. These booms will absorb any oil that flows around it. The workers can also use skimmers, boats that can remove the oil off the water. Sorbents are also used which are sponges that can collect the oil. An airplane can fly over the water dropping chemicals into the ocean. The chemicals can break down the oil into the ocean. They also can burn freshly spilled oil with fireproof booms to contain the oil.

Recently in the North Sea off of Norway, an oil spill happened while the tanker Navion Britannica was loading oil from a storage buoy. The tanker is owned by a Vancouver-based corporation. About 25,000 barrels of oil were discharged into the Statfjord field, 125 miles (201 km) off Bergen on the afternoon of December 12th. Reported on December 14, 2007 ships carrying two oil collection systems were active in the area where the oil slick was believed to be the thickest. StatoilHydro, involved in the clean-up, called off the deployment of booms to help collect the oil because the oil slick was too thin to recover. StatoilHydro will continue to monitor the situation and maintain its emergency response team. Vessels still present in the area, watch over the slick, which is also being monitored by satellite. The Norwegian National Coastal Administration's LN-SFT surveillance aircraft flew over the affected area later that week to make any new observations.

Oil spills happen. Companies like Triple Diamond Energy Corp. are kept abreast of these incidents for many reasons. This precious energy source should not be wasted. And the world has to learn that the damage caused by such oil spills has to be avoided.

There are many things being done to prevent more spills. In 1990, US Congress passed OPA (Ocean Pollution Act). The OPA 90’s major laws are: Emergency Response Plans—This law says that the owners of the tanker must have a detailed plan on what they will do if there was a spill. They must have this plan written before any spill. Double Hulls—The law says that all ships in the U.S are required to have a double hull. Liability—The law says that the owners of a boat that spills oil will have to pay $1,200 for every ton they spill. Spill Fund—The law says that the government has money from companies that transport the oil so when a spill occurs, the government can pay for the clean up. Navigation—The law says that the Coast Guard must know where the oil tankers can drive without an oil spill occurring.