Toolkit: Transporting Oil by Ships

“Marine oil spill response is always evolving because everyone is trying to improve things.”
– Dr. Heather Dettman

Double hulls are a preventive measure implemented to reduce the risk of ship-source pollution in the marine environment.

Not all oils behave the same way when spilled into the marine environment.

There are four response organizations located in Canada.

The term ‘polluter pays principle’ (PPP) is found in many of the guiding conventions, regulations and laws surrounding commercial marine shipping. However, the significance of the principle can be difficult to interpret.

Shipwrecks, once lost, are often forgotten, until oil bubbling up to the ocean’s surface reminds us of their lurking threat.

More than half a century after the cargo ship MV Schiedyk sank on Canada’s west coast, 21st century technology and teamwork with First Nations helped to remove an oily hazard from the environment.

Five years after the Nathan E. Stewart sank, spilling the equivalent of a railcar’s worth of diesel fuel into the ocean,¹ we want to know: could a similar incident happen today and how prepared are we if it does?

The Voluntary Protection Zone implemented to keep commercial ships at a safe distance from the west coast of Haida Gwaii is extended.

The transport of oil by ships is no stranger to controversy. But the tempo of that debate is sure to increase as the Trans Mountain Expansion (TMX) project heads for completion at the end of 2022, with all three berths operating at full capacity later in 2023, placing any potential risks to coastal ecosystems from increased tanker traffic firmly in the public spotlight.

“We must remember the premise of using chemical oil dispersants: Diluting the oil from a surface slick into the water column at sea to reduce its concentration to below toxic levels, enhance its degradation rate, and reduce its probability of reaching shore.” – Kenneth Lee