ISU Pollution Prevention Survey sees rise
The International Salvage Union’s annual Pollution Prevention Survey for 2012 shows the quantity of pollutants salved overall was significantly up on the 2011 numbers.
The increase is explained by the inclusion of a small number of substantial coal cargoes this year. There was a decrease in the number of services performed by ISU members compared with the previous year.
The total of all pollutants salved in 2012 was 810,068 tonnes compared with 496,331 tonnes in 2011, a rise of 63%. The average annual figure for the 18 years for which data is available has dipped to just below one million tonnes of potential pollutants salved per year. It mirrors the trend of a decreasing number of casualties, which chiefly reflects improvements to ship and operational safety over the past two decades.
In 2012 the major change was a significant increase in the quantity of ‘other pollutants’ salved, up 691% from 63,338 tonnes in 2011 to 501,348 tonnes this time. However, the 2011 figure was historically low and the 2012 includes some large bulk cargoes, notably of coal.
The quantity of oil cargoes salved went down by 59% from 258,647 tonnes in 2011 to 104,665 tonnes in 2012. This category is subject to dramatic change due to the potentially large volumes of oil cargo carried by a single vessel. The 2012 number represents, for example, only one major cargo.
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