OIL SPILLS: PROBLEMS AND OPPORTUNITIES

The dependence of the United States on offshore and foreign sources of crude oil suggests that oil spills will be a continuing matter of concern for the forseeable future. Grounded tankers, ruptured pipelines and drilling platform accidents all produce oil spills. Primary prevention through better design, regulation and enforcement will eventually lessen the hazards, but in the meantime most immediate relief must come from the development of new cleanup technology. In this Brief, the events occurring during the grounding and break up of the Liberian tanker, Argo Merchant, in December 1976 are used to illustrate the size and types of problems of responding the accidental oil spills. The Argo Merchant incident provides a framework for looking at the research, technology and instrumentation needs of the future.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • This publication is a MTT/Marine Industry Collegium Opportunity Brief #9. The price is $2.50.
• Corporate Authors:

  Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  Department of Ocean Engineering, 77 Massachusetts Avenue
  Cambridge, MA  United States  02139
• Publication Date: 1977-7

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Groundings (Maritime crashes); Oil spill cleanup; Oil spills; Prevention; Tankers
• Old TRIS Terms: Oil spill prevention
• Subject Areas: Environment; Marine Transportation; Security and Emergencies;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00168353
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Report/Paper Numbers: MITSE 77-17
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Feb 16 1978 12:00AM