POP&C - Pollution Prevention and Control-safe Transportation of Hazardous Goods by Tankers
Overview
Background & policy context:
Stricter international regulation enacted in the early 1990s and advances made in the design and safe operation of tankers saw a significant improvement in safety record of the tanker industry. According to the International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation, oil pollution from tankers for the period 1997-2003 was only 25% of the pollution for the period 1990-1996. The total number of reported tanker incidents with pollution for the period 1997-2003 was only 37% of the figure for the period 1990-1996, while at the same time the total oil trade had increased by 15%. Two particular accidents, though, detracted from the tanker industry's good record. The cause and effect of the Erika (1999) and Prestige (2002) incidents, with their heavy oil cargoes causing extensive pollution on European shores, have had major political, social and economic implications.
Single hull tankers are gradually being phased out, according to the International Maritime Organisation's global regime, but in 2005 Europe went beyond international regulations and implemented a unilateral accelerated phase-out, which has since led to the international phase-out being accelerated too. The control system for tankers has also been tightened up at the same time as the industry itself has taken initiatives to ensure that the structural integrity of tankers is maintained to good standards throughout the life of the ships.
Despite the political and economic importance of these issues, some of the relevant regulation still tended to be made before incidents were properly investigated. Political pressure rather than proper risk analysis may determine which types of oil tanker pose the highest pollution risk, the relative safety of new tanker designs, or the most appropriate response to an evolving oil pollution incident. To address this issue rationally, the European Commission commissioned the POP&C research project.
Objectives:
The POP&C project aimed to deliver a framework and suitable tools for a methodological assessment of risk. This was undertaken to provide a rational basis for making decisions pertaining to the design, operation and regulation of oil tankers. Such support can be used to make more informed decisions, which will in turn contribute to reducing the likelihood and severity of future oil spills.
The specific objectives included developing:
- a risk-based methodology to measure the oil spill potential of tankers;
- a risk-based passive pollution prevention methodology (design and operational lines of defence);
- a risk-based, active, post-accident pollution mitigation and control framework.
Methodology:
The main project steps were as follows:
- Identification and ranking of critical hazards such as collision and grounding, fire and explosion and structural failure;
- This leads to estimates of probability of capsizing/sinking from loss of stability or structural failure;
- Combined with estimates of consequences within a risk-based framework, the above will provide a pollution risk;
- Development of risk reduction through preventative measures;
- Development of post-accident mitigation and control measures such as decision-support tools, the human-machine interface and safe refuge.
Deliverables included pollution risk methodology and assessment tools, decision-support tools for pollution prevention and crisis management, and design and operational guidelines for containment of pollution risk.
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