Fuel refueling is a critical operation on board ships. In the event of an oil spill during refueling, it not only damages the marine ecosystem, fisheries resources, and marine biodiversity, but also generates huge oil pollution compensation.

Oil spill is too scary, so what should we do during the oil supply and receiving operation?

Don't worry, let's learn together.

1、 Typical case

Typical Case 1:

On August 10, 2020 at 2249 hours, the oil tanker "Z" belonging to Zhoushan A Co., Ltd. experienced an operational oil spill accident while refueling at berth 2 of Rongxing Port Area in Panjin Port. About 1.28 tons of fuel oil entered the sea, causing direct economic losses of about 550000 yuan and constituting a general level accident.

Typical Case 2:

At around 2350 on July 25, 2023, during the installation of fuel at the Dayaowan Port of Dalian Port, the Chinese dry cargo ship "X" made a human error. The fuel overflowed from the "right" ventilation hole of the "four compartments" and leaked into the sea through the drainage hole near the living area on the left side of the main deck. The sea pollution area was about 100 square meters, constituting a general level accident.

Typical Case Three:

At around 5:40 pm local time on October 28th in Singapore, a bulk cargo ship "Y" flying the Bahamian flag was engaged in refueling operations with a licensed refueling vessel. It was suspected that due to excessive refueling, an oil spill occurred, resulting in approximately 5 tons of marine fuel entering the sea.

2、 Common causes of oil spill accidents

（1） Personnel aspect

The crew lacks a sense of responsibility. Marine fuel supply accidents often occur in the second half of the night and early morning, and crew members often experience fatigue, lack of concentration, and are prone to operational errors. At the same time, crew members do not follow operating procedures during ship oil operations, fail to maintain effective continuous monitoring, fail to calculate the amount of refueling, and do not prepare all oil spill equipment, resulting in a high incidence of oil spill accidents during this period.

（2） Ship related

There are defects in the ship's equipment. The occurrence of most operational oil spill accidents is closely related to the defects of the ship itself, such as high-level alarm in the oil spill tank, failure of sound and light alarm functions, rusting of flange bolts, inability of breathing valves to work properly, use of oil supply and receiving pipelines that have not been inspected by the ship, and pipeline connections that do not meet regulatory requirements, which increase the probability of oil spill accidents.

（3） Management aspect

The company's management is inadequate. The company lacks safety education and training for crew members in oil supply and reception operations. Insufficient inspection of ship safety, no defects in ship equipment were found, or the crew promptly informed the company of the defects, but the company missed the best opportunity for rectification due to unwillingness to delay operating time or a sense of luck.

（4） Environmental aspect

Adverse weather conditions have an impact. During the process of supplying and receiving oil on ships, sudden strong winds, severe convective weather, and strong winds and waves can cause the ship to roll, pitch, and even sway. This increases the relative motion of the ship, increases the risk of hose rupture, cable breakage, and damage to the ship's anti-collision pads.

3、 Safety advice from maritime investigators

Ship related

Ships should carry out on-site operations and management, conscientiously implement the "Safety Inspection Form for Oil Supply and Receiving Operations", clarify the responsibilities of both parties, and adopt oil supply and receiving operation management measures that meet safety and pollution prevention requirements.

Before oil supply and receiving operations:

Check the connected devices. Check the fuel pump, hoses, connectors, etc. to ensure that the equipment is functioning properly.

Close the relevant valves. Close the relevant sea valves and pipelines, block the deck drainage holes, and close the doors and windows where oil and gas may diffuse into the area.

Establish effective communication. Determine the communication method in advance during the homework process and maintain uninterrupted contact.

Master the weather and sea conditions in advance. Choose appropriate weather and sea conditions for refueling, and do not carry out operations that may affect the safety of oil supply and reception.

Prepare emergency equipment for oil spills. Set up oil collectors in areas prone to leakage and arrange oil booms around the ship to prevent the spread of oil into the sea, causing greater marine pollution and recycling costs.

During oil supply and receiving operations:

Strengthen crew duty. Arrange sufficient crew members to be on duty, strengthen on-site inspections, grasp the progress of operations, pay attention to observing whether there is oil leakage at flanges and hoses, and prevent oil spillage, oil leakage, and excessive refueling.

Display the signal light type. Display danger operation signals according to regulations, hang the "B" flag during the day, and display red ring lights and anchor lights at night.

Pay attention to the weather conditions. Always pay attention to changes in wind and sea conditions, take corresponding measures in a timely manner when weather and sea conditions may affect work safety, and stop work if necessary.

After oil supply and receiving operations:

Close the relevant valves. At the end of the fuel supply and receiving operation, promptly and effectively close the relevant valves, seal the fuel filling port, and prevent fuel leakage and volatilization.

Properly recycle the hose. When dismantling the oil hose, first use a blind plate to effectively seal the hose, or take other effective measures to prevent the hose from storing oil and flowing back into the sea.

Do a good job of closing the work. Clean the deck promptly after refueling, and then open the deck drain hole to prevent pollutants from entering the sea.

On the company side

Strengthen institutional construction. Based on accident cases and lessons learned, revise and improve the safety operation procedures for oil supply and reception operations, while taking into account the rest time of crew members and avoiding fatigue operations as much as possible.

Strengthen crew training. Strengthen the training of crew members on safety knowledge and job skills, enhance their understanding of the oil supply and receiving operation process and precautions, and improve their professional abilities and risk awareness.

Strengthen shore based support. Listen carefully to the feedback from the crew and promptly rectify any defects in the ship's oil supply and receiving equipment.

Strengthen guidance and inspection. Regularly inspect oil pumps, hoses, connectors, etc., and promptly replace or repair faulty equipment.

Strengthen emergency drills. Strengthen the understanding of ship emergency instructions among crew members, regularly organize emergency drills to ensure that crew members are familiar with their responsibilities and can perform their duties in the event of an oil spill accident.

Maritime Reminder

If a pollution accident occurs during the operation of supplying and receiving oil on a ship, it should be reported to the local maritime management agency in a timely manner, and necessary pollution removal and control measures should be taken immediately to minimize the harm of ship fuel to the marine environment.

Kind reminder,

The following are common illegal and irregular behaviors in oil supply and receiving operations,

Be careful!

1. The vessel engaged in fuel supply and reception activities in the port did not report the relevant situation to the maritime management agency in accordance with regulations;

2. The fuel supply unit of the ship did not truthfully fill in the fuel supply and receipt documents;

3. The fuel supply unit of the ship fails to provide the fuel supply and receipt documents and fuel samples to the ship in accordance with regulations;

4. Ships and ship fuel supply units fail to keep fuel supply and receipt documents and fuel samples in accordance with regulations.