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Industrial Oil Vessels & Pollution

Industrial oil vessels, otherwise known as oil tankers, are designed to transport large quantities of oil. There are two basic types of oil tankers: crude tankers and product tankers. Crude tankers move unrefined crude oil from wells while product tankers generally move petrochemicals from refineries to the market. Tankers move approximately 2 billion metric tons of oil and petrochemicals each year and have been responsible for a number of large oil spills.

  1. Exxon Valdez spill

    • On March 24, 1989, the oil tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground on Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound, Alaska, spilling over 11 million gallons of crude oil. Within the first six hours, approximately 10.9 million gallons of unrefined crude oil was spilled. Eight of its 11 tanks on board were damaged, carrying a total of 53 million gallons of crude.The spill covered over 1,300 miles of coastline and over 11,000 square miles of ocean. 11,000 personnel, 1,400 vessels and 85 aircraft were involved in the cleanup.

    COSCO Busan Oil Spill

    • The COSCO Busan Oil Spill occurred on November 2007 when a tanker spilled over 53,000 gallons of heavy crude into the San Francisco Bay. After a formal investigation, causes were determined to be poor navigation by the captain and poor supervision by the crew. California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency, calling for state and local officials to oversee the cleanup.

    Prestige Oil Spill

    • On November 13, 2002, the Prestige oil tanker sank off the Galician Coast. The spill polluted thousands of kilometers of Spanish and French coastline and greatly damaged the fishing industry. After sinking, the ship leaked about 125 tons of oil, which also polluted the sea bed. Studies carried out by Galician authorities predicted that a complete biological recovery may not be until the year 2015.

    Torrey Canyon Oil Spill

    • The Torrey Canyon was a supertanker that shipwrecked off the coast of Cornwall England in March 1967. Approximately 120,000 tons of crude oil was spilled when the ship ran aground due to navigational error. About 15,000 sea birds were killed as a result, along with large numbers of fish.

    Oil Spill Prevention

    • Doubled hull oil tankers, which feature a casing around the oil tanks of the ship along with a separate outer hull, are instrumental in preventing future oil tanker disasters, and decreases the risk of an oil spill by 60 percent. This way if the outer hull is damaged, the oil inside will still be safely contained. The double hull is, however, far more expensive than single hull ships. While single hull ships can cost up to $200,000,000, double hull ships go for around $300,000,000.

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