The average number of spills greater than, or equal to 7 tonnes in size has continuously reduced and, since 2010, averages around seven per year. When large spills of greater than 700 tonnes are looked at, the yearly average, which was around 25 in the 1970s has reduced dramatically to less than two since 2010.
Last year, two tanker incidents resulting in spills of over 700 tonnes were reported. The first occurred in the Indian Ocean and the second, which ITOPF attended, occurred in the Aegean Sea. Four medium sized spills (7-700 tonnes) were also recorded in 2017.
The estimated total amount of oil lost to the environment through tanker incidents in 2017 was about 7,000 tonnes, the majority of which can be attributed to the two large incidents mentioned above.
Despite an overall increase in oil trading over the past few decades, it is reassuring to note that oil spills involving tankers have decreased significantly meaning that some 99.99% of oil transported by sea arrives safely at its destination, the organisation said.
However, accidents still happen, as demonstrated on 6th January this year by the tragic incident that occurred off the coast of China involving the oil tanker ‘Sanchi’ (see story above).
Learning lessons from incidents, such as these, will assist tanker owners and governments to continue to work together to reach the highest level of safety and environmental stewardship, ITOPF stressed.