(http://www.MaritimeCyprus.com) At the time, Exxon Valdez was the worst disaster of its kind in US history. But today, the spill barely cracks the list of the 40 worst tanker oil spills around the world, according to the International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation (ITOPF). The Gulf oil spill — sometimes called the Deepwater Horizon or BP…
(http://www.MaritimeCyprus.com) On 24 March 1989, the single-hull tanker EXXON VALDEZ was departing the Port of Valdez, Alaska with a full load of North Slope crude oil (approximately 1.26 million barrels) destined for Long Beach when it grounded on Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound. The resulting oil spill, while not the largest in US history, was…
(http://www.MaritimeCyprus.com) On the world stage, the grounding of the supertanker TORREY CANYON on Pollard’s Rock in the Seven Stones reef between Cornwall and the Scilly Isles is more significant than the 1989 EXXON VALDEZ oil spill. The TORREY CANYON was one of the first tankers large enough (120,000 tons capacity) to be designated a supertanker. It…
(http://www.MaritimeCyprus.com) On 15 February 1996, the tanker Sea Empress grounded while entering the port of Milford Haven, spilling approximately 2,500 tons of its cargo of crude oil. The vessel was quickly refloated and anchored in deep water in preparation for lightening some of the remaining cargo. Gale force winds drove the tanker aground again, spilling an additional…
(http://www.MaritimeCyprus.com) On October 5, 2011, an oil spill began off the coast of New Zealand that would become what many describe as the country’s worst maritime environmental disaster. When the MV Rena container ship (owned by Greek shipping company Costamare Inc.) ran aground on Astrolabe Reef 12 miles off the coast of New Zealand’s North…
(http://www.MaritimeCyprus.com) The US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled on the claims of various parties concerning financial responsibility of the spill of heavy oil from the tanker Athos I into the Delaware River on 26 November 2004. Short history: On the evening of November 26, 2004, the 60,000 dwt tanker Athos I struck an uncharted…
Princess Cruise Lines Ltd was sentenced to pay a $40 million penalty – the largest-ever for crimes involving deliberate vessel pollution – related to illegal dumping overboard of oil contaminated waste and falsification of official logs in order to conceal the discharges, announced Acting US Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey H. Wood for the Department of…
