The Nanuq, a 301-foot, Arctic A-1 ice class, oil recovery platform supply vessel, built by Edison Chouest of Houma Louisiana, owned by Shell
Shell apparently thinks it is ready to deal with an Arctic spill. Somebody needs to prove that.
SHOW THE AMERICAN PUBLIC!
CONDUCT AN EXERCISE WITH A PUBLIC NEWSPAPER PRE-PUBLISHED "ARCTIC" RESPONSE PLAN THEN ENACT IT WITH ONSITE INDUSTRY AND USCG OBSERVERS WITH PUBLIC VIDEO ROLLING.
YOU WISH TO BUY AMERICAN RESOURCES - SO SHOW AMERICANS THAT YOU HAVE THE KNOWLEDGE, TECHNOLOGY AND TRAINED STAFF TO OPERATE IN A RESPONSIBLE MANNER! SHIT HAPPENS, HOW WILL YOU DEAL WITH IT?
AMERICAN'S WILL NOT ALLOW YOU TO POLLUTE, HARM, KILL, OR DAMAGE OUR CITIZENS, WILDLIFE, AIR, LANDS, OCEANS, OR RESOURCES.(PERIOD)
There currently is no technology to clean up an oil spill in heavy ice or make it go away. In-situ burning and dispersants, the first choices of many companies, are of limited value and must be implemented within 72 hours, even in a warm climate. They fail to remove all the oil from the environment even under the best conditions. Such methods are particularly ineffective when it's pitch-black 24 hours a day, the wind chill is -75°, the ice is broken and moving quickly, along with the oil, and the spill is 500 km from any supply base.
Alaska Clean Seas recently cleaned up 0.76 hectares (1.89 acres) of ground contaminated by a small pipeline leak beside a road. It cost $100 million and took an army of men and equipment 8 months of effort. Wind chill was often -60° C. One of their big concerns was being devoured by polar bears. Clearly, ordinary equipment and methods will not work on Arctic ice floes in such conditions. Existing arctic skimming technology consists of lightly-built mechanical mops and revolving brushes that dip into the oil among the surging ice floes, which can weigh hundreds of tonnes. During a pitch-black Arctic winter with the temperatures of -60° C, success may again be limited.
All scientific papers dealing with oil spills in heavy ice or heavy seas conclude that existing technologies and methods are almost completely ineffective. Examples of recent research papers include:
| • Oil Spill Contingency Planning in the Arctic | SINTEF 2006 | |
| • Advancing Oil Spill Response in Ice-Covered Waters | US Arctic Research Commission 2005 | |
| • Offshore Oil Response in Dynamic Ice Conditions | WWF 2006 | |
| • Development of New Oil Spill Response Concepts | SINTEF 2004 | |
| • Oil Spills: Probability and Consequence | Worldocean Consulting Ltd 2004 |
The above papers emphasize the need for more equipment but also point out that existing approaches don't work. They point out that there has been no significant innovation in 40 years, and that all current technology will most likely fail in the Arctic.
"Monitoring and regulation of growing marine traffic", proposed recently by the Canadian government, will facilitate keeping score of the oil spills. However, most of the spilled oil will still remain in the sea.
In addition to the inevitable oil spills caused by the oil industry, there will be spills caused by the mining industry. There are hundreds of mine sites under development in the Arctic, and minerals will be shipped to market in vessels fueled with diesel or bunker C. A single iron mine is forecasting 4,000 voyages over 20 years across Arctic waters. In addition, the mines themselves will be powered by vast quantities of diesel fuel or bunker C, which in many cases are shipped in by large tankers. Catastrophic accidents are virtually inevitable.
SHOW US!
Another spill clean up idea - just add ICE and test?
Promising technology for rough water:
http://www.spilltechnology.com/video/orangerecov_editNov28-08.wmv
Another idea... but just add ICE then what? Unproven.
Pumping the oil spill ocean water through a centrifuge? A step in the right direction... to a multi-facet problem... one solution not likely to ever changing oil types, environments, seas and weather conditions - one vessel cannot do it all... not yet... when? SHOW US!
DO YOU THINK SHELL OIL WILL BE DRILLING IN THE ARCTIC IN 2011?
WHO WILL BE THERE TO MONITOR AND REPORT BACK TO THE PUBLIC?
DO YOU TRUST THE GOVERNMENT TO TAKE REASONABLE STEPS TO PROTECT?
IF THERE IS A SPILL IN THE ARCTIC - WHERE ARE THE PHYSICAL AND HUMAN RESOURCES LOCATED TO RESPOND?
THE BEST WAY TO STOP A SPILL IS PRE-PLANNING, DEMONSTRATION AND PREPARATIONS BEFORE ACTUALLY DRILLING.
SHOW US!
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