Last year saw a further decline in the number of pollution prevention services by salvors – but the threat still exists
Maritime accidents have been big news over the past couple of years, perhaps more so than at any time since the bad old days of tanker accidents in the 1970s and 1980s. But these days, those accidents tend to involve containerships closing waterways or crashing into bridges, rather than thousands of tonnes of oil washing up on the shore.
But such events do still happen, though as the International Salvage Union (ISU) reveals in its annual prevention survey, the downward trend is continuing. Last year, ISU members provided 173 services to vessels at risk of causing a marine pollution incident, down from 186 in 2022. The total quantity of potential pollutants also fell, from 2.49m tonnes to 1.92m tonnes, with most of that fall accounted for by declines in the volume of dry bulk pollutants and containers. In contrast, the volume of most liquid bulk cargo increased, in the case of refined products quite considerably – from under 145,000 tonnes in 2022 to 255,000 tonnes.
ISU says the figures demonstrate the vital role played by professional salvors in protecting the marine environment. ISU president John Witte says: “More than ever, ESG requirements are at the top of the agenda for all industries and of course for shipping. The focus on emissions and climate change must be maintained but we must not lose sight of the importance of simply protecting the environment. It affects those providing services to shipping as much as the owners: the insurers and financiers as we see with the adoption of the Poseidon Principles.
“Sustaining a viable professional salvage industry ready to respond to all kinds of incidents around the world is vital and that is recognised by insurers and owners but it needs to be properly funded,” Witte adds.
EMERGING THREATS
The number of containers involved was lower than in 2022 but, after bulk cargo, still represents the most significant category. ISU members provided services to vessels carrying 30,000 TEU, amounting to an estimated 400,000 tonnes of cargo. This compares with 187,000 tonnes in the case of crude oil. ISU points out that containers may carry a wide variety of dangerous goods, including plastics pellets, which represent one of the biggest threats to the marine environment.
“Containers continue to be difficult to deal with – offloading, storing and perhaps backloading,” Witte points out. “But the traditional threat from oils remains and there were also several cases of car carriers and ro-ro fires and the carriage of electric vehicles (EVs) is an increasing concern. Salvors often do not know if there are EVs or batteries on board or the quantity.”
Cargoes of refined oil products and chemicals increased significantly in the 2023 numbers. An increased number of the services in the survey did not record the quantity of bunkers or the cargo type meaning the reported numbers likely represent a more modest total than the reality – ISU reports bunker fuel salvage falling from 108,000 tonnes in 2022 to 81,000 tonnes last year.
ISU is transparent about the fact that not all these potential pollutants were at immediate risk of going into the sea. Some cases will have had limited danger, but others will have carried a real risk of causing substantial environmental damage. In an era of zero tolerance of any pollution, even the smaller cases represent a significant concern.
source: https://hcblive.com/salvage-keep-it-clean/
