Incidents

Spill of glue like substance in Netherlands

  • August 6, 2010
Fulmar victim of pollution with polyisobutylene (PIB)
Fulmar victim of pollution with polyisobutylene (Picture: Arnold Gronert)

It is not unusual that from time to time seabirds are washed ashore covered in substances that apparently have killed them, but that look strange and sometimes potentially dangerous. In the Netherlands, where beaches are intensively and systematically monitored for scientific purposes, these events do not pass unnoticed. Last March seabirds were found in large numbers on the shores of the northwest Dutch coast covered in a substance that looked like glue.

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Oil spill in the Italian River Po

  • March 11, 2010

Friday February 26: Sea Alarm put an assessment team on stand by in order to travel to Italy and assist with the initiation of an oiled wildlife response, at the request of the Italian authorities. In the morning Sea Alarm was alerted by Ezio Amato, a scientist and emergency response specialist of ICRAM, the Central Institute for Applied Scientific Research of the Sea, who asked if Sea Alarm would be prepared to assist in the developing incident.

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Full City response debrief at EOW

  • November 27, 2009

As a side event of the Effects of Oil on Wildlife Conference, Sea Alarm organised a debrief with most of the responders that were part of the international team that assisted in the oiled wildlife response in Norway, following the Full City oil spill incident. The main conclusion from the debrief was that the team without doubt had made a very strong contribution to the success of the Norwegian response.

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At least 1,500 birds thought to be affected by Full City spill

  • August 10, 2009

The Norwegian Ornithological Society (NOF) has observed 34 species of birds affected by the Full City spill, which occurred in southern Norway on 31 July. While NOF representatives have to date observed over 1,500 oiled birds in the field, the total number of birds affected by the spill is predicted to be far higher.

The Norwegian Oiled Wildlife Response Network (NOW) is leading the organisation and coordination of the response. Sea Alarm’s Roser Gasol has been on-site since 2 August, providing assistance together with Sea Alarm’s other on-site team members Claude Velter (Wildlife Rescue Centre Ostend), Sascha Regmann (Project Blue Sea, Germany) and Tania Regmann (Project Blue Sea, Germany). Three RSPCA experts will be joining the international response team on 10 August.

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Wildlife response underway in Norway

  • August 5, 2009
Overview of rehab centre and tents

Five days after the Full City grounded in Norway on 31 July, things are falling into place for the wildlife response. The Norwegian Oiled Wildlife Response Network (NOW) is taking a strong lead in the organisation and coordination of the response. The Network’s activities have been recognised and approved by the authorities, resulting in the wildlife response being fully integrated into the overall oil spill response. A budget has been made available to NOW to cover the costs of the response.

“It is incredible how quickly and well things are getting organised here in Norway” says Sea Alarm’s Roser Gasol, who has been on-site since 2 August. “Everybody works so effectively together that each hour you see incredible changes. The rehabilitation centre in Langesund will soon be up and running, providing the desired capacity of at least 180 birds”.

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Sea Alarm responds to oil spill in Norway

  • August 3, 2009
The ship FULL CITY on the Norwegian shoreline (source picture: www.kystverket.no)
The ship FULL CITY on the Norwegian shoreline (source picture: www.kystverket.no)

Sea Alarm”s Roser Gasol travelled to Norway to respond to an oil spill caused by the Panamese bulk carrier MS Full City. The ship stranded in the early hours of 31 July on skerries near Langesund, county Telemark, in southern Norway following a storm. The Full City had 1120 tons of bunker oil on board of which a thousand tons have spilled into the sea.

The spill occurred in an area where several nature reserves are present, and at this time of year, is an important area for eiders, scoters, terns, cormorants and several gull species.

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Spill in Queensland, Australia

  • April 2, 2009

Photo courtesy of Qld Department of Environmental and Resource Management

Due to the heavy seas caused by Cyclone Hamish off the coast of Queensland, Australia, the Pacific Adventurer lost thirty-one containers holding ammonium nitrate on 10th March, puncturing two fuel tanks in the process. The subsequent oil spill, estimated to be up 42 tonnes, contaminated pristine beaches in a large area of south-east Queensland.

Fortunately, the spill seems to have had a minimal effect on birdlife.

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Spill in Ireland

  • April 2, 2009

 

On 14th February, an estimated 500-1000 tonnes of oil spilled out into the Celtic Sea, close to where the Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov was refuelling, threatening the Irish and Welsh coastlines. The Irish Marine Department described the spill as the biggest spill to hit the area in a decade. Although no oiled birds were found washed up on the shorelines, mainly because the spill occurred so far off shore, experts believe that seabirds must have been affected as high densities of wintering birds are normally found in the area.

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The Fedra spill

  • November 20, 2008

The cargo ship Fedra ran aground on 10 October 2008 off the east side of Gibraltar’s Europa Point with 370 tonnes of fuel oil on board. Within hours, the Oil Spill Response team was on site in Gibraltar to assist and advise local teams. Sea Alarm was put on standby, in case a wildlife emergency emerged.

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Mystery Spill in Germany

  • February 3, 2008

In early February 2008, the Federal State of Schleswig Holstein, was confronted with a mystery spill. This incident came too early for the local authorities who had not yet finalised their oiled wildlife response plan.

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