Oil spills - Experience from incidents and the need for

improved coastal predictions

Hilde DolvaSenior Adviser

NCA’s main tasksAuthority under the Ministry for Fisheries and Coastal Affairs.Main tasks:• Piloting and Vessel Traffic Services (VTS)• Navigational Aids• Construct, improve and maintain shipping lanes and fishing

harbours, transport-planning activities• Acute pollution – at sea and onshore

– Manage governmental oil spill response – primarily spills from vessels

– Co-ordinate the national contingency– Regulatory authority for industry and municipal oil spill response

operations

Norwegian Coastal Administration, Department for Emergency Response

Norway in a nutshell• Geographical features:

– North - South: 1752 km – Coastline: 80 000 km– Climatic variations form

arctic in the north to coastal in the south.

– EEZ approx 2 mill. km2

• Petroleum industry:– Production 3 mill. bbl./day– 90 % is exported, 3rd largest

exporting country– Exploration and production

starting in the Barents Sea.• Large shipping industry

– And Increasing traffic off the Norwegian coast

Some incidents in Norway….

Green Ålesund 2000

John R 2000

Rocknes 2004

Server 2007

Crete Cement 2008Full City 2009

Godafoss 2011

Norwegian Coastal Administration, Department for Emergency Response

…not only oil

National principles – counter pollution• Focus on preventive measures and risk reduction

– Risk based – not “worst case”• Coordination

– Private – Municipal - Governmental• Response

– As close to the source of the spill as possible to reduce further pollution and achieve the best net damage reduction

– Use of both mechanical measures and chemical dispersants • Continuous surveillance of response operations

Pollution incidents- focus on:

• Type of pollution

• Sensitive areas affected/might be affected

• Oil drift and spreading

Norwegian Coastal Administration, Department for Emergency Response

Sensitive areas

http://kart.kystverket.no/

Info needed

• Wind

• Waves

• Currents

• Drift

• Ice

• Tides

When incidents happens

• Need data (weather forecast, oildrift) quickly, information needed to operational use (e.g.where to send oil recovery equipment)

• Information integrated in maps used

• The information - used in the planning for the next step

Where is the oil…

Predictions oildrift Godafoss

Local knowledge

Foto: Svein Dahlgren regiongeolog

Beach cleaning- time consuming- expensiveCan it be avoided?

Godafoss incident, 17 February 2011

Norwegian Coastal Administration, Department for Emergency Response

www.kystverket.no- public information

Full City – registrert og modellert strandpåslag

Oil in ice, estimated 1.2 l oil pr 1000 m2

Ice Information must be: - detailed (grid)- updated

Oil weathering

Incident Godafoss 2011Estimated oil spill112 m3

Norwegian Coastal Administration, Department for Emergency Response

Norwegian Coastal Administration, Department for Emergency Response

Oil recovery budget– Full City

Total on board "Full City" 1154 m3

From open sea 28 m3

From beaches 74 m3

Emergency pumping from ship 860

m3

Left in nature 191 m3

Tømt Götavärket ?

Tømt Langesund

In total 2930 tons is collected (963 tons of oil)

Oil samples

• Sampling: – Thin oil– Thick oil– Oil on beaches– Birds

• Oil identificationWhat is the source/ securing evidence

Sampling

Spills from: vessels, illegal oil discharge, satellite observationsThe oils have different fingerprints Extent of damage

min4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18

counts

0

50000

100000

150000

200000

250000

300000

350000

400000

FID1 A, (220204\004F0401.D)

Pad prøve av oljefilm på sjø

Figurer: SINTEF

Chemical dispersion - using vessel, helicopter and/or air plane

Chemical dispersion

• Must reduce overall environmental impact• Protect seabirds and shoreline• Can harm marin organisms• If used- e.g. Deep Water Horizon – remaining oil?

Stril Poseidon, Draugen 2006

New technology

• Drift buoys – improved oil drift models

• Operation in the darkness - oil recovery

• Low temperatur/ice are limiting factors

Challenges• Weather and current forecasting - linked to oil

recovery possibilities• Near coast predictions – more accuracy• Currents• Ice• Transfer oil drift predictions (wms) to maps • NCA needs:

– oil drift predictions during incidents– historical data for contingency planning

Norwegian Coastal Administration, Department for Emergency Response

Norwegian Coastal Administration, Department for Emergency Response

Thank you for your attention!

Thank you for your attention!

“working to keep our coast and waters among the safest and purest in the world”