228
A. NELSON-SMITH
shore. The cost of dispersal is borne by the offending party; the oil
companies operating there have agreed to accept the harbour-master’s
assignment of responsibility for this purpose, even when there is no
legal proof, sharing between them the cost of treating unassignable
pollution (Dudley, 1968). The general position of responsibility for
pollution of the sea or shore under British law is summarized by Elliott
(1969).
It is becoming an increasingly common practice to load or tranship
oil at terminals or moorings which are some considerable distance off
shore, where many of these remarks do not apply. Shell International
pioneered the use of single-buoy moorings 10-15 miles (16-24 km) off
the coast, where the cost of providing conventional shore facilities was
prohibitive. The first was laid off Sarawak in 1960 and they are now
in use at many terminals. Off the Libyan coast, a similar mooring
system utilizes a pylon built on the sea-bed. A submarine pipeline
carries oil to a manifold beneath the buoy (attached by a swivelling
connection) or pylon ; valves below this connection are under remote
control from the shore. The loading tanker may tie up directly to the
buoy or, at a terminal in the Persian Gulf which acts as the wellhead
of an offshore oilfield, t o a tanker permanently moored and adapted
to store the oil produced. Loading takes place through flexible floating
hoses. These operations seem hazardous, but strains are less than at
multi-buoy moorings or conventional jettyheads because the tanker is
free to swing and thus offers the least resistance to winds and currents
(Howe, 1968 ; Anon., 1969). Off-shore terminals have also been made
necessary by recent great increases in tanker size ; for example, in 1968
an island jettyhead was built 10 miles (16 km) off Kuwait to accommodate the present Gulf Oil 312 000-ton tankers of 79 ft (24.1 m)
draught and projected vessels up to 450 000 tons. The only European
facilities capable of receiving these tankers were opened at the same
time, at Bantry Bay in south-west Ireland, solely for transhipment
(see Davis, 1968). The oil is transported to refineries in Milford Haven,
Europoort (Rotterdam), Denmark and Spain by tankers up to 100 000
tons.
Milford Haven can now accept tankers up to 220 000 tons and 63 ft
(19.2 m) draught. Shell, lacking a refinery in the Haven, found that it
was economical to use 200 000-ton tankers drawing 62 ft (18.9 m) from
1968 even though Europoort would not be deep enough for them until
1970. The fully-loaded tanker is met in the English Channel, the
southern North Sea or the Irish Sea by one of two specially equipped
70 000-ton tankers which is tied up alongside t o lighten the larger
vessel either at anchor or while steaming gently ahead (Fig. 4). To
A. NELSON-SMITH
shore. The cost of dispersal is borne by the offending party; the oil
companies operating there have agreed to accept the harbour-master’s
assignment of responsibility for this purpose, even when there is no
legal proof, sharing between them the cost of treating unassignable
pollution (Dudley, 1968). The general position of responsibility for
pollution of the sea or shore under British law is summarized by Elliott
(1969).
It is becoming an increasingly common practice to load or tranship
oil at terminals or moorings which are some considerable distance off
shore, where many of these remarks do not apply. Shell International
pioneered the use of single-buoy moorings 10-15 miles (16-24 km) off
the coast, where the cost of providing conventional shore facilities was
prohibitive. The first was laid off Sarawak in 1960 and they are now
in use at many terminals. Off the Libyan coast, a similar mooring
system utilizes a pylon built on the sea-bed. A submarine pipeline
carries oil to a manifold beneath the buoy (attached by a swivelling
connection) or pylon ; valves below this connection are under remote
control from the shore. The loading tanker may tie up directly to the
buoy or, at a terminal in the Persian Gulf which acts as the wellhead
of an offshore oilfield, t o a tanker permanently moored and adapted
to store the oil produced. Loading takes place through flexible floating
hoses. These operations seem hazardous, but strains are less than at
multi-buoy moorings or conventional jettyheads because the tanker is
free to swing and thus offers the least resistance to winds and currents
(Howe, 1968 ; Anon., 1969). Off-shore terminals have also been made
necessary by recent great increases in tanker size ; for example, in 1968
an island jettyhead was built 10 miles (16 km) off Kuwait to accommodate the present Gulf Oil 312 000-ton tankers of 79 ft (24.1 m)
draught and projected vessels up to 450 000 tons. The only European
facilities capable of receiving these tankers were opened at the same
time, at Bantry Bay in south-west Ireland, solely for transhipment
(see Davis, 1968). The oil is transported to refineries in Milford Haven,
Europoort (Rotterdam), Denmark and Spain by tankers up to 100 000
tons.
Milford Haven can now accept tankers up to 220 000 tons and 63 ft
(19.2 m) draught. Shell, lacking a refinery in the Haven, found that it
was economical to use 200 000-ton tankers drawing 62 ft (18.9 m) from
1968 even though Europoort would not be deep enough for them until
1970. The fully-loaded tanker is met in the English Channel, the
southern North Sea or the Irish Sea by one of two specially equipped
70 000-ton tankers which is tied up alongside t o lighten the larger
vessel either at anchor or while steaming gently ahead (Fig. 4). To