Tanker Oil Spills

"We read in the esteemed Tanker Operator the views of ITOPF which events have conspired to mistime. They say that tanker oil spill statistics for almost 50 years show a progressive downward trend. The average number of spills greater than, or equal to 7 tonnes in size has continuously reduced and, since 2010, averages around seven per year. When large spills of greater than 700 tonnes are looked at, the yearly average, which was around 25 in the 1970s has reduced dramatically to less than two since 2010.

It's a safer industry all right. But there lies the wreck of the Sanchi in 115 metres, all hands dead, 136 000 tons of condensate, the slick the size of Paris and heading for coastal Japan like its 1968. Nearly half a career's preoccupations await the claims handlers at the SKULD Club as they deal with the technical issues arising out of a large pollution incident near to well to do coastal jurisdictions as complicated by the Iran factor." Fonte: The Maritime Advocate online--Issue 711.