GULF WAR

Location: Persian Gulf

Date: Jan. 21, 1991

Amount: Between 160 million and 420 million gallons

How it happened: As Iraqi forces withdrew from their position in Kuwait; they sabotaged
hundreds of wells, oil terminals, and tankers. All told, a minimum of 4 million barrels were
poured into the Persian Gulf. Within a couple of years however, experts happily reported that
the biggest oil spill in history had a surprisingly small environmental impact.

THE IXTOC 1 OIL WELL

Location: Gulf of Mexico

Date: June 3, 1979 March 23, 1980

http://foreignpolicy.com/2010/04/30/the-biggest-oil-spills-in-history/

On 11th August 2006, the tanker SOLAR 1, chartered by Petron Corporation and carrying approximately
2,000 tonnes of intermediate fuel oil, encountered problems in rough seas and sank in the Guimaras
Straits, some 10 nautical miles south of Guimaras Island, Republic of the Philippines. Two of the 20 crew
members were lost at sea.

A substantial, but at the time unknown, quantity of cargo was spilled when the vessel sank, and small
quantities of oil continued to leak from the wreck in ever decreasing amounts. Following an operation to
remove the remaining oil from the sunken vessel in March 2007 it was found that virtually the entire cargo
had been spilled at the time of the incident.

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) led the response and was assisted by Petron Corporation with
international support. At-sea response focused on the application of chemical dispersants to the freshly
released oil using aircraft and spray arms mounted on tugs and PCG patrol vessels. Attempts were made
to protect sensitive resources using conventional booms and a series of improvised booms made from
banana leaves and similar material. Shoreline clean-up was conducted for three months, overseen by the
PCG and carried out by residents of the affected villages supported by Petron staff and a contractor hired
by the shipowner. It was undertaken using predominantly manual methods and primarily focused on
sandy beaches on the south coast of Guimaras Island. Collected oily waste was recycled at a cement
plant on the island of Mindanao.

About 125km of shoreline were contaminated to varying degrees on the south and south-west coasts of
Guimaras Island and a number of small islets off the south-east coast. This included approximiately 500
hectares of mangroves, which are particularly vulnerable to the smothering effects of oil. The spill also
had a major impact on the small-scale fisheries on Guimaras Island. A number of fishpond operators,
seaweed farmers and tourist businesses also suffered losses.

The SOLAR 1 was the first incident involving the Small Tanker Oil Pollution Indemnification Agreement
(STOPIA 2006), a voluntary agreement among the P&I Clubs to increase the limitation amount applicable
to a vessel under the 1992 Civil Liability Convention to 20 million SDR for all ships below 29,548 GT (the
small ship minimum under 92 CLC is 4.51 million SDR for ships less than 5,000 GT).
http://www.itopf.com/in-action/case-studies/case-study/solar-1-philippines-2006/
2014 ITOPF
Contamination of sea water due to an oil pour, as a result of an accident or human error
is termed as oil spill. Oil is among the most important energy sources in the world and
because of its uneven distribution, it is transported by ships across the oceans and by
pipelines across the lands. This has resulted in several accidents in the past while
transferring the oil to vessels, during transportation, breaking of pipelines, as well as
while drilling in the earths crust. While massive and catastrophic spills receive most of
the attention, smaller and chronic ones occur on a regular basis. These spills
contaminate the coasts and estuaries and can cause serious health problems to human
beings.

Oil is a mixture of hydrocarbon compounds, which are the decayed remains of marine
animals and plants, died and drifted to the bottom. For the past 600 million years, under
intense pressure and temperatures, these remains changed into complicated
hydrocarbons called petroleum. Crude oil is a mixture of gas, naphtha, kerosene, light
gas, and residuals, which causes hazardous health effects if consumed by any life
forms.

https://www.marineinsight.com/environment/what-is-an-oil-spill-at-sea/

Copyright 2010 - 2017 Marine Insight

A significant spill of heavy oil (bunker C type) occurred when Power Barge No. 103 ran aground at the
shores of Estancia during the height of typhoon Haiyan. Between 21 and 23 November, environment
experts from the Philippines Environmental Management Bureau visited the site of the oil spill together
with a United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) environment expert, and a public
health expert from the World Health Organization, in order to jointly undertake a preliminary assessment
of the threats the spill poses to human health, livelihoods and the environment.

Current estimates by the management of the power barge amount to around 800,000 litres of oil having
leaked. As the ruptured tanks continue to leak and up to 600,000 litres of oil remain in the tanks, the
amount of spill is increasing steadily. Urgent action is required to pump out the remaining oil or seal the
holes in the tanks.

Most of the spilled oil has washed ashore, contaminating the coast and mangroves up to 10 kilometres
downstream. The containment booms deployed are not sufficient to effectively contain all of the free
phase oil in the water. The free phase oil has been blown ashore by southeastern winds so far. A change of
wind direction or a tropical depression could further complicate the containment of the free phase oil. A
faster, mechanical clean-up process with oil skimmers is urgently required.
An urgent need for recovery and clean up equipment and expert advice has been identified. A request for
technical assistance to the Environmental Management Bureau in Iloilo has been received by the United
Nations on 22 November and an oil spill clean-up expert was deployed on 27 November.

Temporary workers who have been hired for the clean-up operations continue to stay close to the site of
the accident. The workers are currently exposed to significant occupational health risks due to the unsafe
and ineffective practice of manual recovery of free phase oil in the open water and the insufficient and
inappropriate provision of personal protective equipment. Immediate change in the management of the
clean-up operation is required in order to protect the workers from unacceptable health risks.

The contamination of the coast is putting the resident population at risk from accidental fires and other
physical injuries. The chemical risk to the affected population is limited as long as direct contact with
contaminated debris is avoided. The physical risk to the people sheltering in the immediate vicinity of the
oil spill has been mitigated with the evacuation of most of the population to a temporary evacuation
centre. With every day the clean-up process is delayed, the affected population does not get the
opportunity to recover and will continue to depend on humanitarian relief.

The oil spill is a threat to the livelihoods of the population who depend mainly on fishing and tourism, and
having been heavily affected by the typhoon. This increases the vulnerability of the population who has
been severely affected by the typhoon with many houses severely damaged. As of 27 November, electricity
is still not available in Estancia. The sea, shore, rivers and mangroves south of Estancia have been affected
by the oil spill. Appropriate mitigation measures are urgently required in order to limit the effects on
human health, livelihoods, and the ecosystem. Some preliminary recommendations have been formulated
in this report.

https://reliefweb.int/report/philippines/oil-spill-estancia-iloilo-province-western-visayas-
philippines-resulting-typhoon

Published on 30 Nov 2013