The Hindu Business Line : Slick ways to tackle oil pollution

THE need to combat oil pollution, particularly in the context of increased volumes being handled by oil companies in the country, came up for discussion at a seminar of World Shipping Forum in Chennai recently.

As oil spills cause massive destruction, the marine community in India too should take cue from the developed nations that have achieved significant progress in preventive and mitigating measures, according to a paper presented at the seminar by Mr A. R. Kar and Mr H. V. Ramesh of the Indian Register of Shipping.

The country's oil consumption is expected to rise to 155 million tonnes (mt) by 2006-07 from the present about 100 mt or so, while the domestic production is estimated at 40 mt, including 25 mt from the offshore wells.

Tankers of various sizes and capacity, including very large crude carriers (VLCCs), bring in the bulk of the oil and discharge them in ports located on the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal.

The vast coastlines, rich in marine resources, therefore, deserve protection from disasters that may be caused by oil spills.

Some of the recent disasters indicated the potential of destruction caused by oil spills.

A 40,000-tonne oil spill near Karachi entailed an expenditure of about Rs 10 crore for clean-up, in addition to causing devastation to the beaches, marine life and environment in that region.

The paper also cited the case of oil spill from the tanker Prestige off Spain, which led to a huge public outcry, prompting the European Union to issue regulations prohibiting the entry of single hull tankers into European waters.

It also led to a historic decision of the London-based International Maritime Organisation on the phasing out of single hull tankers.

The most important step towards the prevention of the oil spill would be to pay attention to the tankers carrying liquid hydrocarbons.

The tankers should be monitored for proper maintenance and the availability of equipment to tackle any spill.

The paper was of the view that a proper assessment of risk had to be carried out in sensitive areas such as the Gulf of Kutch where oil handling facilities would go up in view of the development plans of oil companies. The impact of oil spills on the fragile eco system must be assessed in environmentally-sensitive areas such as the Sunderbans in West Bengal, the paper said, expressing concern over proposals for installation of oil terminals in the area posing a potential threat to the eco system.

The paper stressed establishing agreements for co-operation with neighbouring countries in such areas as working out contingency plans, training manpower, setting up response centres and stock piling of equipment.

As different agencies would be involved in tackling an oil spillage, planning and co-ordinating their activities would be of primary importance.

The oil spills may be broadly divided into two categories — major spillages, usually caused through accidental events and minor spillages generally caused by marine operations.

The sources of major spillage are damaged ships (due to structural failure, bad maintenance, collision or grounding), especially tankers, rigs or terminals, and leaks in submarine pipelines.

Minor spillage are caused by accidental leakage of oil from ships or discharge of oily bilge water, usually due to non-functioning separators. But such discharges attract heavy penalties. Major spills are best tackled by the spraying of chemical dispersants as they can be sprayed easily over a wide area.

But the major drawback of this approach is the possible long-lasting damage on environment and marine life. Hence, it has to be employed with much care, taking into consideration the side-effects.

Some countries have restrictions on the use of certain types of dispersants.

Another method is in situ burning, a process in which the oil slick is set on fire and allowed to burn.

This process is successful in relatively calm seas, when the thickness of the slick is just about 4 mm to counter the cooling effect of the wind and the sea.

The main disadvantage of the process is the smoke and the smell. Further, the flame cannot be close to the source, if it is a ship with some more oil in it or an oil rig.

In addition, there are processes such as bio-remediation, bio-augmentation, bio-stimulation, wherein microbes are cultured which take away the nutrient part of the oil, thereby breaking up the oil. These processes are very slow.

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