Oil spillages

[sighmoon]

I'm no expert (as will become evident), but as chemicals exist which can solidify oil on contact, would it be feasible for ships to have their oil tanks lined with a liner containing said chemicals, so that if the hull is ruptured, so is the liner, and the oil is solidified, instantly blocking the hole. Presumably, it wouldn't be strong enough to stop a ship going down, but it could keep environmental damage to a minimum.

 

[Aja]

If the pressure of water coming from the outside of the tank was greater, the hole would quickly become unblocked?

Donald

 

[awol]

... but then the oil wouldn't come out!

 

[Aja]

Surely if the pressure on the outside became greater, then water would be forced in, forcing oil out?

Donald

 

[RIMCOas01]

This may of course really rock the boat ... but my limited knowledge of spillages and their impact on the environment is that they are greatly over-exploited for their sensationalism. I accept that in the short term there may be a loss of marine life and some birds (and lets be honest it is only the birds other than seagulls that cause a tear to be shed). However over time such spillage more often than not actually "improves" the marine environment. A case in point being the Gulf .... after the war there were thousands of sq.kms of pollution ... and now they are reaping fantastic catches.. In the North Sea the marine life around the rigs is much higher than in other "non polluted" areas.

Yes I know there are different types of pollutant and the effects vary greatly ... but of them all a hydrocarbon based pollutant, whilst unsightly has very limited distructive/- disruptive effect and can (somewhat akin to a forest fire) be beneficial in the longer term.

kevlar and helmet attired ... just in case of flak /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[sighmoon]

Wouldn't that require an additional hole?

 

[Aja]

It does. In the same way as the fuel has to come out or the tank would collapse in on itself. There will be vents somewhere possibly above water.

Am I talking mince? /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

Donald

 

[Mirelle]

No flak from me - but I do have to declare an interest, as I manage merchant ships.

Some years ago, ITOPF calculated that the biggest single source of oil in the sea was old motor car luboil tipped down the drain; I forget what the percentage was but I do recall that 8% of the total was natural seepage from geological formations.

The amount entering the sea from ships has diminished since then.

 

[Mirelle]

No, you are right. there is always an air vent; there has to be or the tank would collapse when you pumped oil out of it. The vent comes up to the weatherdeck and has a swan neck with a water trap valve fitting in it.

Likewise there are always steam heating coils in the tanks, as residual fuel oil has to be heated to make it flow.

 

[TigaWave]

Nice idea...We supply the products that turn into a gel with hydrocarbons..so a complete mesh filled with product atround the whole hull might be great for our business, but in practice if the hull ruptures so would the mesh and gel.

 

[Bergman]

In the years before the 1st gulf war we had several house martin nests around the house.

Each spring the birds flew in and took over the nests, did a little maintenance and repair and raised a new family.

Early each summer we used to patrol the area around the house picking up tired fledglings and putting them out of cats reach.

The oil spills and fires killed many thousands of birds, including our house martins, we have not had a single martin since.

I miss those little birds.

 

[Dalliance]

And the evidence you have for that claim is??

 

[luty]

If the captain could empty the contents of said chemical into the oil tank before it was ruptured (ie if you know you have lost steerage and are likely to go aground) or shortly after rupturing, perhaps the spill could be avoided / limited.

 

[PTG1]

Never mind the oil, the Beeb was reporting that PERFUME spillage is a hazard. Is this because it's so bl**dy expensive or because all the 1st mates will become WOB's to get a free sample??? I'll now retire to the air raid shelter.

 

[Ross1]

The solidified product is not strong enough to hold anything. It is not used at sea because the conditions are too rough and it breaks up. Once solidified it then needs to be collected, It might become gel like but is still a pollutant until collected!!

Mirelle is quite right that the highest pollutant from oil is caused by that which is poured down the drain by the householder and garages. Oil spilled from ship accidents is more dramatic in the first instant but as an overall environmental pollutant is negligable.

Protecting the environment needs to come from closer to home rather than spending money developing ways to prevent spills from the lesser pollutors!

Spills look terrible and make a mess but the natural environment adapts to cope. An example is the reed/rush beds next to Fawley oil refinery. in the late 70's (I think) the reeds all seem to die back and it was blamed on the refinery, now they are flourishing. The mild pollutant that does make it into the sediment may have had an initial effect but they soon adapted and have not deminshed since!