The Impact of Erika Tanker Oil Spill on the Environment
Introduction
On December 12 1999 the Maltese oil tanker Erica sunk in the Bay of Biscay outside the French coast of Brittany. The vessel had broken in two spilling an amount close to 19800 tones of heavy fuel oil. Additionally 6400 tones remained in the bow section of the sunken vessel and approximately 4800 tones in the stern section. Even though all crew members were rescued, this event would inevitably turn out to a huge disaster. Most of all because of the environmental consequences of the oil spill.
In this paper I will first of all stress out the effects on the environment caused by the oil spill. Then, the regulations that were applied to the incident under consideration will be analyzed. Moreover I will point out the problems which arise from the incident. Finally I will evaluate measures taken with the aim of avoiding any similar future incidents.
The tragic event of the tanker vessel Erika had a tremendous impact in the environment. As shown in the appendix, the catastrophe in the waters, the coasts and of course the sea life from the oil spill was huge. Yet, this wasn’t the only effect that this incident caused. The economic consequences were enormous affecting the fishing and the tourist sector for many years. Also the costs for cleaning up the waters and coasts were very high. As you can imagine, the damage made by the Erika oil spill remains one of the biggest environmental disasters of recent years. (http://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?collection=journals&handle=hein.journals/ausnewma19&div=6&id=&page=
Regulations applied
The Erika oil spill moved the publics concern regarding the transportation of goods at sea. At that time it was a fact that a high percentage of vessels were old and not well maintained. That was also because the European rules on maritime safety were not as strict as they should have been. The already existing rules should be reinforced.
The reaction of the European commission
On December 12 1999 the Maltese oil tanker Erica sunk in the Bay of Biscay outside the French coast of Brittany. The vessel had broken in two spilling an amount close to 19800 tones of heavy fuel oil. Additionally 6400 tones remained in the bow section of the sunken vessel and approximately 4800 tones in the stern section. Even though all crew members were rescued, this event would inevitably turn out to a huge disaster. Most of all because of the environmental consequences of the oil spill.
In this paper I will first of all stress out the effects on the environment caused by the oil spill. Then, the regulations that were applied to the incident under consideration will be analyzed. Moreover I will point out the problems which arise from the incident. Finally I will evaluate measures taken with the aim of avoiding any similar future incidents.
The tragic event of the tanker vessel Erika had a tremendous impact in the environment. As shown in the appendix, the catastrophe in the waters, the coasts and of course the sea life from the oil spill was huge. Yet, this wasn’t the only effect that this incident caused. The economic consequences were enormous affecting the fishing and the tourist sector for many years. Also the costs for cleaning up the waters and coasts were very high. As you can imagine, the damage made by the Erika oil spill remains one of the biggest environmental disasters of recent years. (http://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?collection=journals&handle=hein.journals/ausnewma19&div=6&id=&page=
Regulations applied
The Erika oil spill moved the publics concern regarding the transportation of goods at sea. At that time it was a fact that a high percentage of vessels were old and not well maintained. That was also because the European rules on maritime safety were not as strict as they should have been. The already existing rules should be reinforced.
The reaction of the European commission