Peru has demanded compensation from the Spanish oil firm Repsol after freak waves caused by a volcanic eruption near Tonga caused a disastrous oil spill. The spill happened in an area rich in marine life such as seabirds, sea lions and otters. Locals have only rudimentary equipment to try to clear the oil.
Peru’s prime minister, Mirtha Vásquez, has claimed the Pampilla refinery, run by Repsol, apparently did not have a contingency plan for an oil spill
Continue reading...Oilwells set alight by Iraqi forces in 1991 were put out within months, but insidious pollution still mars the desert
For 10 months in Kuwait, everything was upside down. Daytime was full of darkness from the thick smoke, and nights were bright from the distant glow of burning oilwells.
When Iraq’s leader, Saddam Hussein, ordered the occupation of Kuwait in August 1990 in an attempt to gain control of the lucrative oil supply of the Middle East and pay off a huge debt accrued from Kuwait, he was fairly quickly forced into retreat by a US coalition which began an intensive bombing campaign.
Continue reading...If an ageing pipeline under the Great Lakes spills, it would be devastating. But Canada is trying to block Michigan from shutting it down
Canada would be apoplectic if the US government marched into a Canadian court and argued that the province of Ontario has zero authority over an American company operating an aging, corroded pipeline under Canada’s pristine Georgian Bay. Yet this is the exact approach Canada is taking in US courts by arguing that the state of Michigan has zero authority to order the shutdown of an aging and dangerous pipeline operated by a Canadian company under the Straits of Mackinac – where any spill would have catastrophic ramifications for the Great Lakes.
Canada’s strained position is premised on ignoring the plain text of the 1977 US Canada Pipeline Treaty: “Pipeline[s] shall be subject to regulations by the appropriate governmental authorities … with respect to such matters as the following: (a) pipeline safety … ; (b) environmental protection.”
Lana Pollack was appointed by President Obama to chair the US Section of the International Joint Commission. The IJC was established by the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909 to assist the US and Canadian governments in managing and protecting waters shared by the two countries. The views expressed are Pollack’s, not those of the IJC
Continue reading...FSO Safer has been abandoned since 2017 and loss of its 1.1m barrels would destroy Yemen’s fishing stocks
The impact of an oil spill in the Red Sea from a tanker that is rotting in the water could be far wider than anticipated, with 8 million people losing access to running water and Yemen’s Red Sea fishing stock destroyed within three weeks.
Negotiations are under way to offload the estimated 1.1m barrels of crude oil that remains onboard the FSO Safer, which has been deteriorating by the month since it was abandoned in 2017. The vessel contains four times the amount of oil released by the Exxon Valdez in the Gulf of Alaska in 1989, and a spill is considered increasingly probable.
Continue reading...An estimated 126,000 gallons leaked from an underwater pipeline in one of the largest spills in recent state history
Temperatures in southern California surged on Sunday, but Huntington state beach was devoid of the umbrellas and beach blankets that would typically line its shore.
Instead, public works officials were working feverishly to stop the spread of an estimated 126,000 gallons of heavy crude oil that leaked from an underwater pipeline over the weekend in one of the largest spills in recent California history.
Continue reading...A large oil spill off the coast of Southern California has killed wildlife and fouled beaches along the Orange county coast. At least 126,000 gallons (572,807 litres) spilled into the waters after oil leaked from a broken pipeline connected to an offshore rig
Continue reading...Crews scramble to contain 126,000 gallons of crude oil that spilled in waters off Orange county before it spread further into wetlands
One of the largest oil spills in recent Southern California history fouled popular beaches and killed wildlife while crews scrambled Sunday to contain the crude before it spread further into protected wetlands.
At least 126,000 gallons (572,807 liters) of oil spilled into the waters off Orange county, according to a statement from the city of Huntington Beach.
Continue reading...Storm wreaked havoc on offshore oil production platforms and onshore oil and gas processing plants
The US Coast Guard on Monday said it was investigating nearly 350 reports of oil spills in and along the US Gulf Coast in the wake of Hurricane Ida.
Hurricane Ida’s 150 mile per hour winds wreaked havoc on offshore oil production platforms and onshore oil and gas processing plants. About 88% of the region’s offshore oil production remains shut and more than 100 platforms unoccupied after the storm made landfall 29 August .
Continue reading...Officials in Turkish-occupied northern Cyprus say 20,000 tonnes of oil is approaching its coastline
Turkish Cypriot authorities have taken emergency action to stop an oil slick blamed on a faulty power plant in Syria from wreaking environmental havoc along some of the island’s finest unspoilt coastline.
Officials in the war-partitioned country’s breakaway north erected what local media described as a 400 metre barrier off the Karpas peninsula to prevent the slick reaching its pristine shores.
Continue reading...A group of fishers were outraged when they came across a large oil spill with 'clumps as thick as porridge' covering the Gulf of Paria in Trinidad.
Gary Aboud and Fishermen and Friends of the Sea (FFOS) documented the spill and criticised the clean-up attempt by oil company Paria Fuel Trading Company Ltd, calling for the company to contain the oil and collect it instead of dispersing it with boats.
In a statement released on Monday, Paria said: 'The spill is contained, and a residual clean-up is ongoing.' The company said that absorbent booms had been strategically placed to prevent further migration of oil into the sea, but FFOS said they had not seen evidence of this.
Almost 500 oil spills have been reported in the region’s land and at sea since the beginning of 2018
Continue reading...Government suspends fishing along 50-mile coastline after explosion and fire
A cargo ship carrying tonnes of chemicals has sunk off Sri Lanka’s west coast, and tonnes of plastic pellets have fouled the country’s rich fishing waters in one of its worst marine disasters.
The government on Wednesday suspended fishing along a 50-mile stretch of the island’s coastline, affecting 5,600 fishing boats, and hundreds of soldiers have been deployed to clean affected beaches.
Continue reading...Aerial footage shows a cargo ship carrying chemicals on fire off the Sri Lankan coast. The fire on MV X-Press Pearl, a Singapore-registered ship, broke out on 20 May and has been burning ever since, spilling microplastics across Sri Lanka’s beaches and killing marine life in what could be the worst environmental disaster in its history. The Sri Lankan navy and Indian coastguard have been trying to reduce the flames for more than 10 days
Continue reading...Debris has killed marine life and is being seen as country’s worst environmental catastrophe
Sri Lanka is facing the worst environmental disaster in its history after a cargo ship carrying chemicals caught fire off its coast, spilling microplastics across the country’s pristine beaches and killing marine life.
The fire on MV X-Press Pearl, a Singapore-registered ship, broke out on 20 May and has been burning ever since. The Sri Lankan navy and Indian coastguard have been trying to reduce the flames for more than 10 days.
Continue reading...Volunteers gather to remove clumps of tar in cleanup effort that could take months or years, officials say
Israeli authorities are trying to find the ship responsible for an oil spill that drenched much of its Mediterranean shoreline with tar, an environmental blow that will take months or years to clean up, officials said.
Thousands of volunteers gathered on Sunday to remove clumps of sticky black refuse from the pale beaches. Israel’s military said it was deploying thousands of soldiers to help with the effort. Authorities warned members of the public to keep their distance until further notice.
Continue reading...Ogale and Bille villagers say Shell oil operations have caused severe pollution including to their drinking water
Two Nigerian communities can bring their legal claims for a cleanup and for compensation against the oil company Shell and its Nigerian subsidiary in an English court, supreme court judges have said.
In what lawyers said was a “watershed moment” for the accountability of multinational companies, on Friday the court overturned a decision by the court of appeal, and ruled that the cases against Shell could proceed.
Continue reading...Dozens of villagers, including children, claim they suffered severe burns and sickness after contact with contaminated water
The UK government has accepted a human rights complaint against mining and commodities giant Glencore regarding a toxic wastewater spill in Chad, where dozens of villagers – among them children – claim they suffered severe burns, skin lesions and sickness after contact with contaminated water.
The complaint, brought by three human rights groups on behalf of affected communities, alleges environmental abuses and social engagement failures by the FTSE-100 company in relation to two spillages, the wastewater spill and an alleged oil spill, both in 2018.
Continue reading...Incidents such as tanker stranding in Mauritius stress need for quick and effective solutions
Special sponges, magnetic soap and autonomous robots are among the latest wave of inventions aimed at tackling oil spills.
Incidents such as the tanker stranding in Mauritius in August can devastate the environment and threaten communities who rely on the sea or tourism for their livelihoods. They often take months or years to clean up.
Continue reading...Exclusive: African state says it has agreements with oil companies in Lake Chad area
Chad has asked to suspend an application for world heritage site status for Lake Chad to explore oil and mining opportunities in the region, it can be revealed.
In a letter leaked to the Guardian, Chad’s tourism and culture minister wrote to Unesco, the body which awards the world heritage designation, asking to “postpone the process of registering Lake Chad on the world heritage list”.
Continue reading...MV Wakashio has split in two and leaked 1,000 tonnes of oil into the water since it ran aground
Salvage crews were preparing to sink a Japanese-owned ship that ran aground off Mauritius, despite opposition from environmental campaigners.
The MV Wakashio broke into two on Saturday, almost three weeks after hitting a reef and spilling 1,000 tonnes of oil into idyllic waters full of marine life.
Continue reading...Grounded carrier has split in half and poor conditions make removal of ship’s remaining oil risky
International experts and thousands of local volunteers were making frantic efforts on Sunday to protect Mauritius’s pristine beaches and rich marine wildlife after hundreds of tonnes of oil was dumped into the sea by a Japanese tanker in what some scientists called the country’s worst ecological disaster.
Related: Grounded carrier off Mauritius breaks apart risking ecological disaster
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