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Environment and Development »
Oil Spills and the Marine Environment
During 1969
and 1970, there were an estimated 926 tanker groundings,
collisions, and rammings (). It is likely that many of these tanker
casualties occurred because of the great stopping distance and low
maneuverability of large tankers. Research on the stopping distance
of tankers could be oriented towards the determination of
propulsive arrangements that can stop the ships faster than
existing conventional single-screw arrangements. Research on tanker
maneuverability could lead to more effective control devices such
as propellers that push sideways.
Navigational Aids.
It can be
expected that collision avoidance radar will be common to tankers
in the near future and will reduce the number of collisions.
Because of the potential benefits of satellite navigation, research
and development of satellite navigation systems should be speeded
up.
Although work
is proceeding on harbor traffic control, the rate of progress has
been quite slow. One reason for this is that operational methods
for harbor traffic control are not very well known. Another is that
the degree of ship control that should be exercised by a harbor
traffic controller is unknown. Accelerated research in this area is
essential.
RESEARCH
ON OIL POLLUTION CLEANUP AND CONTROL TECHNOLOGY
Treating
Agents and Associated Equipment
The two most
promising treating agents for future research are sorbents and
burning agents. This is not to say that dispersants are not
important, but research on dispersants has reached a high level and
seems to need no further emphasis.
Sorbent
systems offer a possibility of overcoming the difficulty of
containing oil in swift currents. The work done so far on sorbent
systems has been oriented towards small spills. The development of
sorbent systems for rather large spills in moderate to swift
currents needs further study.
If an oil
slick could be burned efficiently enough to prevent serious air
pollution, the oil pollution problem would be greatly reduced. The
prospects for burning large, uncontained slicks with burning agents
are not promising. The possibility of burning a fairly thick slick
held by a fireproof barrier is more interesting. This would require
the development of fireproof barriers and of burning devices able
to achieve complete and self-supporting combustion.
Some research
has been done on the stimulation of biological degradation of oil
by introducing micro-organisms into the natural environment or a
possible waste oil facility. This possibility warrants further
study.
Pollution Control Barriers
The
developmental work on calm-water and high-seas
oil-pollution