Pacific Spirit Marine Institute
Lack of Sea 'Traffic Control' May Be One Cause Of Friday's Environmental Disaster: Oil spill in the Yellow Sea
Monday, December 10, 2007
South Korea's Government faces accusations that it acted too slowly in its response to the horrible oil spill that happened on Friday. Perhaps the slowness isn't in the time it took the government to respond to the accident on Friday, but the time it has taken to respond to the increased maritime traffic in the area.
South Korea's ports are heavily traveled with cargo vessels ladened with exports, and other ships bringing in fuel and imported goods. Traffic control in the heavily traveled Yellow Sea will no doubt undergo some heavy scrutiny.
Investigators looking into what may have gone wrong before Friday's accident that left three holes in the Hebei Spirit. The single hulled tanker lost approximately 66,000 barrels of crude oil. It's amazing that three of her 6 cargo holds were punctured.
The crane barge, the Samsung No.1 and it's tug were reportedly not where they belonged for more than an hour before the collision took place. It is also rumored today that cables and connections had not been inspected before the tug began towing the more than 11,000 ton crane back to Samsung Heavy Industries from Incheon.
The government has promised 5.9 billion won (6.4 million dollars) will be available immediately to help local fisherman and business owners cope with the economic hardships that have already begun due to the oil spill.
Beaches are being fouled and aqua-farms are wiped out. Fishermen at Uihangri village, are saying "It is a complete disaster," Tourism, which brings in more than 20 million tourists a year to the area, will be finished for quite some time putting financial hardship on hotels and restaurants. Many business owners are afraid they won't survive even with sate funds to help out.
The oil has hit destroyed more than 180 aqua-farms in the area and 14 beaches. The farms grow abalone, oysters, littleneck clams and sea cucumbers.
Photo Thanks Nytimesonline slideshow
Labels: aquaculture, Hebei Spirit, oil spill, oil tanker, South Korea
© 2007, Pacific Spirit Marine Institute.
Lack of Sea 'Traffic Control' May Be One Cause Of Friday's Environmental Disaster: Oil spill in the Yellow Sea
posted by Pacific Spirit on Monday, December 10, 2007
State of Disaster Declared After Oil Spill in Yellow Sea
Sunday, December 9, 2007
The Korean government declared a state of disaster on Saturday, Dec.8, due to the oil spill off Mallipo Beach. Taean County and 5 surrounding counites were named. South Cheongcheong Province plans to ask that Taean County be further named a "special disaster area" apparently enabling them to receive future tax breaks and more government assistance to restore the local economy. Commerce will likely be affected adversly for years to come.
Many reports say the oil has stopped spilling from the Hong Kong-registered Hebei Spirit but, Korea Net is reporting officials as saying that as of 5 p.m. December 8, 17 kilometers of coast line of South Chungcheong province has been covered by the oil slick. The oil pushed by tides and wind and the oil still leaking from the tanker.
President Roh Moo-hyun has instructed government officials to take measures to minimize the damage from the oil
spill Korean maritime police have sent 103 ships and 5 helicopters to the scene of the oil slick. They have built
4.2 km of oil trapping fence. Efforts to trap the oil before it reaches the shore line haven't stopped the oil
from coating the once beautiful white-sand beaches of Mallipo Bay, which is no wonder considering the estimate of
2.7 million gallons of crude oil floating on the water.
There are approximately 181 aqua-culture farms in the affected area which cover about 5,650 hectares. British
Lloyd P&I, the company insuring the Samsung NO.1. may be shelling out 300 billion won ($330 million) along with the International Oil Pollution Compensation Fund. Government officials are hoping affected fish and seafood farmers will be compensated quickly but have not porvided any details yet.
Nearly 8,000 workers are working at a fever pitch to clear the beaches of the gloopy oil as it comes ashore. Samsung Heavy industires has sent hundreds of its employees to the affected area to help in the clean up efforts.
Apparently Samsung Group is under investigation regarding a 'slush fund scandal'. Bad luck usually comes in threes so Samsung's bad luck may be nearing an end.
Investigators looking into what may have happened causing the largest oil spill in South Korea's history suspect the towing vessel failed to get warnings from the control tower giving them instructions on how to avoid the supertanker Hebei Spirit. There may have been a communications breakdown. Whether or not this was an equipment or a human breakdown has not been made clear. Still others investigating the accident believe the tow lines from the barge to the tow may have been broken during strong winds and high waves.
Photo Thanks cnn.com
Labels: Hebei Spirit, Mallipo, oil spill, South Korea, Yellow Sea
© 2007, Pacific Spirit Marine Institute.
State of Disaster Declared After Oil Spill in Yellow Sea
posted by Pacific Spirit on Sunday, December 09, 2007
Hebei Spirit Oil Spill May Have Dealt Final Blow After Saemangeum to Migratory Birds.
This is a dead dunlin simply fallen from the sky exhausted. The Saemangeum land reclamation project, said to be the world's largest, has been spilling hard feelings, dead birds and a vast array of wildlife upon the edge of the Yellow Sea for years.
The project covers an area 7 times the size of Manhattan, somewhere in the neighborhood of 155 sq. miles. The Saemangeum land reclamation project is only a few miles south of Friday's oil spill,as the migratory "crow flies".
South Korea hatched the reclamation project after the Korean War. Originally the reclaimed land was slated for agriculture. Once the tidal flats, vital to the migratory birds of the East Asian-Australasian Flyway, were filled the land would increase arable land for rice paddies.
What seemed like a good idea in 1953,for a nation trying to rise up from the turmoil war, turned out to be unnecessary. South Korea was able to produce a massive rice surplus in the face of inefficient agricultural methods. The reclamation project went forward in spite of there being no real agricultural need providing construction work and much needed employment.
The allure of sea side tourism and the prospect of generating perhaps more than 1 billion dollars a year from tourists the Saemangeum project moved ever forward. There was also an enticing prospect of building the worlds largest golf course with more than 500 holes. Countries across the globe have been developing sea side resorts for as long as humans have sought the surf and sand. Forever?
Nearly 80% of the Mediterranean Sea has been developed for tourism. Some places like Valencia in Spain, realized some 20 years ago, it was critical to the environment to reverse the damage that has been done their coastal areas.
More than 1,600 species of life call the Korean Yellow Sea Home. Life in, along, and passing through the Yellow sea range from 70 types of phytoplankton to 500 marine invertebrates, 150 types of fishes, 230 water birds and at least 10 kinds of marine mammals. The reclamation project has resulted in the loss of at least 25% of the total tidal flats in Korea have been lost. Just one of the arguments to continue the project was; more than 300,000 birds that stop at the tidal flats will find another place to refuel. Mallipo perhaps?
"Mallipo is finished" said Choi Kyung-hwan a local fisherman who had come out to help with the cleanup.
Photo thanks www.birdskorea.org
Labels: Hebei Spirit, migratory birds, oil spill, oil tanker, Saemangeum
© 2007, Pacific Spirit Marine Institute.
Hebei Spirit Oil Spill May Have Dealt Final Blow After Saemangeum to Migratory Birds.
posted by Pacific Spirit on Sunday, December 09, 2007
Samsung No.1 May Have Broken Tow Ropes Before Crashing Into Hebei Spirit.
Friday, December 7, 2007
The Taipei Times is reporting loose ropes linking the Samsung No.1, owned by Samsung Heavy Industries, to it's tow may have been a contributing factor in Friday's oil spill off the coast of South Korea. The crane barge, Samsung No.1 and the Hebei Spirit collided causing the worst oil spill in South Korea's history.
The barge which had a crane onboard was on it's way to build a bridge in the western port city of Incheon, it was being towed by another vessel.
An Official with the ministry of maritime affairs and fisheries says initial investigations showed loose ropes linked to the towing vessel might have caused the accident. YonHap news is reporting the tow ropes broke in strong winds and high waves. Waves as high as 13 feet were being reported at the time of the collision.
3 small tankers have been dispatched to the listing Hebei Spirit to pump some of the remaining oil from her before it has a chance to spill. Oil is still spilling from the 3 holes on her port side the spill is threatening the white-sand beaches of one of Asia's largest wetlands. Officials fear the oil spilled could reach the coast of the Taean Maritime National Park by Sunday.
It's still unknown exactly how much crude oil has been leaked out so far.
Labels: Hebei Spirit, oil spill, oil tanker, Samsung Heavy Industries, Samsung No.1, Taean Maritime National Park
© 2007, Pacific Spirit Marine Institute.
Samsung No.1 May Have Broken Tow Ropes Before Crashing Into Hebei Spirit.
posted by Pacific Spirit on Friday, December 07, 2007
13 Foot Waves May Have Contributed To Tanker Accident and Hamper Containment of Oil Spill
Waves were too high to use floating booms to contain the oil already leaking from the Hong Kong registered Hebei Spirit. The Hebei Spirit says it had a collision with a crane barge owned by Samsung Heavy Industries.
The tanker was said to be enroute to a Daesan refinery. It is now being reported that the Hebei Spirit was approximatly 5 miles out of port waiting to unload 260,000 tons of crude oil. According to South Korea's maritime ministry "A barge ship being towed...collided with the oil tanker at anchor."
Officials are saying the spill could reach shore in less than 48 hours. The Taean Peninsula is home to Taean Maritime National Park. 530 Km of silvery white-sand beaches. The Maritime and Fisheries Ministry is reporting 40 vessels fighting the oil spill. "Much will depend on how the sea currents move in coming hours."
The oil spill is already more than 5 km long and is approaching wildlife habitats and oyster beds. This area is also an important stop to migratory birds.
The last oil spilled from a tanker in this part of the world was in 1995 when nearly 31,000 barrels of crude oil were spilled off the southern coast.
Labels: Hebei Spirit, oil spill, oil tanker, Taean Maritime National Park
© 2007, Pacific Spirit Marine Institute.
13 Foot Waves May Have Contributed To Tanker Accident and Hamper Containment of Oil Spill
posted by Pacific Spirit on Friday, December 07, 2007
Hebei Spirit; Another Oil Tanker Accident!
The South China morning press is reporting a crane-carrying vessel slammed into a Hong Kong-registered oil tanker causing it to lose 66,000 barrels of crude oil.
The cause of the accident at this time is as varied as the location of the. Yonhap News Agency has the tanker hitting a piece of loading equipment on a dock in the port of Taenan south of Seoul and has leaked 15,000 tonnes of crude oil. Bloomberg is reporting the tanker, Hebei Spirit as actually 'at anchor' when the accident happened.
The Hebei Spirit is a single hull oil tanker. A law requiring all tankers have double hulls will go into effect in 2010.
In the mean time the debate rages on over the real value of double hulled vessels as opposed to single hulled, just as the debate over the 'real' cause of global warming rages on. One has to wonder how an additional layer of protection would be deleterious in any case. Just as abstaining is safer than having protection during sex, the absences of accidents would be safer for our environment. Realistically neither is ever going to happen so for now another layer of protection seems to definetely in order.
There are 3 holes in the side of the Hebei Spirit. At this time we don't know if the crane was on a barge or on a dock, but the tanker has leaked a tremendous amount of crude oil causing yet another environmental tragedy.
If the 66,000 barrel spill is a correct amount and no more oil will be lost, this is about 1/3 the size of the Exxon Valdez spill of 1989.
Labels: Hebei Spirit, oil spill, oil tanker
© 2007, Pacific Spirit Marine Institute.
Hebei Spirit; Another Oil Tanker Accident!
posted by Pacific Spirit on Friday, December 07, 2007
IPCC Bali update! One more 'Yellow Bike' program
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
The 10,000 delegates from around the globe descended upon Bali for the beginning of the unprecedented U.N Climate Change Conference. As we pointed out in our November 19 article "...Handing out pink slips", the additional burden of 10,000 delegates with entourage will have a huge impact on the environment in Bali.
The U.N. estimates 47,000 tons of additional carbon dioxide and other pollutants will be pumped into the atmosphere during the 12-day conference in Bali. Chris Goodall, author of "how to live a low-carbon life" thinks the U.N. underestimates that amount. Goodall is quoted in the 'seattlepi.com' as saying he believes the real figure will more in the neighborhood of 100,000 tons, which would be close to what, a small country like, Chad churns out in a years time.
What is the solution to throwing a party for 10,000 people and their accompaniment?
Provide 200 bright-yellow mountain bikes for the 10,000 delegates to share.
In the mid-1990's a 'yellow bike" program was started in Portland, Oregon. Soon after its launch there the program was tried in Fresno, California. The yellow bikes, in large quantity, were placed randomly around the city for people to use, on their honor. Upon reaching their destination cyclists were to leave the bike at a corner for someone else to use. Alas, these bikes were stolen and repainted, some were stripped and left on street corners without tires or seats. One could see at times only a tiny yellow bike frame slung to the pavement.
We hope the 200 bright yellow bikes provided for the 10,000 delegates at the conference in Bali do not meet the same fate. The gesture of the yellow bikes seems symbolic at best. At worst it looks like just another instance of paying lip-service to a problem that is looking everyday to be insurmountable.
Less talk and more action. We will see if any action comes from all the talk. The conference looks to be a giant trade-show for peddlers cashing in on the global climate crisis and a 2 week vacation in paradise for most of the delegates. It's being said that despite the UN IPCC scientists pleas for urgent action, there is a "palpable lack of urgency".
Chairman of the Bali Tourism board, Ida Bagus Ngurah Wijaya, has long been worried Bali facilities and infrastructures would be overstretched by the UN Conference. December is normally Bali's peak tourist season. With the additional crunch of delegates will Bali be able to hold up under the strain?
Wijaya says with estimates of 15,000-20,000 actual conference participants and accompanying persons attending the UNFCCC, Bali's carrying capacity is certain to undergo a critical test.
Labels: Bali, IPCC, U.N. Climate Change Summit, Yellow Bikes
© 2007, Pacific Spirit Marine Institute.
IPCC Bali update! One more 'Yellow Bike' program
posted by Pacific Spirit on Wednesday, December 05, 2007
