369 kl of oil was spilled in 287 ocean pollution incidents. Such spills have
declined over the preceding five years after a steady rise between 1994 and
1998, but they continue to occur. In terms of quantities leaked per vessel,
miscellaneous ships accounted for the majority at 62% (3046 kl), followed by
oil tankers (549.7 kl), cargo ships (354.6 kl), and fishing boats (253 kl) (Kim
et al. 2014). Most of these incidents have occurred in the waters off of Ulsan,
Yeosu, Busan, or Incheon, which have high volumes of oil passing through.
The damage to ecosystems at aquafarms and coastal fisheries near the waters
has been immense. To prevent oil from spreading when it has been spilled, oil
fences and other means are adopted as physical recovery measures. It is
impossible, however, to recover all of the spilled oil using these methods. On
average, around one-third of spilled oil can be recovered, one-third will
volatilize, and the remaining one-third becomes driftage and a major source
of oceanic pollution. Some of the remaining oil in the ocean collects into oil
balls, which drift among the waves until they reach a certain weight and sink,
adhering to the ocean floor. The grim images of water birds covered in oil
should be enough to underline the devastation that these oil spills cause to
nature. In December 2007, the 150,000-ton Hong Kong oil tanker Hebei
Spirit was at anchor in the waters off of Taean when a Samsung Heavy
Industries floating crane collided with it. The accident resulted in 12,547 kl of
crude oil spilling out of the tanker and into the ocean, resulting in contamination of a 167-km stretch of coastline from Seosan’s Garorim Bay to
Taean’s Anmyeon Peninsula. Large numbers of fish and shellfish at some
5000 ha of nearby aquafarms were killed. The devastation to fisheries also
impacted local livelihood, dealing a blow to the regional economy. An
average of 10,000 people per day worked to prevent the disaster from
spreading, but some estimate that it may take at least another 50 years for the
region’s marine ecosystem to fully recover (Fig. 1.2).
Another accident occurred in March 1989 when an Exxon oil tanker ran aground
at Prince William Sound in Alaska. Around 40 million l of oil were spilled, covering an area of 8800 km
2 on the coast. Countless aquatic birds and marine
organisms were killed, and the coast was left black with oil) While it was possible
to remove encrusted oil from the coast using physical washing (the application of
forceful, high-pressure jets of warm ocean water), not all of the oil could be
removed, and the coast remained black with contamination. To remove the
remaining coastal oil that could not be physically washed away, the power of
microbes—and their ability to dissolve petroleum components in the sea—had to be
employed. Microbes capable of dissolving petroleum components are known to be
relatively plentiful in the ocean. This also means that there are many that do not
exhibit petroleum dissolution properties under certain environments, but have the
potential to do so. Petroleum-dissolving microbes did exist on the Alaskan coast,
but they dissolved petroleum components at a very small rate that could not be
1.4 Marine Life Sciences: The Future Is in Sight
13
declined over the preceding five years after a steady rise between 1994 and
1998, but they continue to occur. In terms of quantities leaked per vessel,
miscellaneous ships accounted for the majority at 62% (3046 kl), followed by
oil tankers (549.7 kl), cargo ships (354.6 kl), and fishing boats (253 kl) (Kim
et al. 2014). Most of these incidents have occurred in the waters off of Ulsan,
Yeosu, Busan, or Incheon, which have high volumes of oil passing through.
The damage to ecosystems at aquafarms and coastal fisheries near the waters
has been immense. To prevent oil from spreading when it has been spilled, oil
fences and other means are adopted as physical recovery measures. It is
impossible, however, to recover all of the spilled oil using these methods. On
average, around one-third of spilled oil can be recovered, one-third will
volatilize, and the remaining one-third becomes driftage and a major source
of oceanic pollution. Some of the remaining oil in the ocean collects into oil
balls, which drift among the waves until they reach a certain weight and sink,
adhering to the ocean floor. The grim images of water birds covered in oil
should be enough to underline the devastation that these oil spills cause to
nature. In December 2007, the 150,000-ton Hong Kong oil tanker Hebei
Spirit was at anchor in the waters off of Taean when a Samsung Heavy
Industries floating crane collided with it. The accident resulted in 12,547 kl of
crude oil spilling out of the tanker and into the ocean, resulting in contamination of a 167-km stretch of coastline from Seosan’s Garorim Bay to
Taean’s Anmyeon Peninsula. Large numbers of fish and shellfish at some
5000 ha of nearby aquafarms were killed. The devastation to fisheries also
impacted local livelihood, dealing a blow to the regional economy. An
average of 10,000 people per day worked to prevent the disaster from
spreading, but some estimate that it may take at least another 50 years for the
region’s marine ecosystem to fully recover (Fig. 1.2).
Another accident occurred in March 1989 when an Exxon oil tanker ran aground
at Prince William Sound in Alaska. Around 40 million l of oil were spilled, covering an area of 8800 km
2 on the coast. Countless aquatic birds and marine
organisms were killed, and the coast was left black with oil) While it was possible
to remove encrusted oil from the coast using physical washing (the application of
forceful, high-pressure jets of warm ocean water), not all of the oil could be
removed, and the coast remained black with contamination. To remove the
remaining coastal oil that could not be physically washed away, the power of
microbes—and their ability to dissolve petroleum components in the sea—had to be
employed. Microbes capable of dissolving petroleum components are known to be
relatively plentiful in the ocean. This also means that there are many that do not
exhibit petroleum dissolution properties under certain environments, but have the
potential to do so. Petroleum-dissolving microbes did exist on the Alaskan coast,
but they dissolved petroleum components at a very small rate that could not be
1.4 Marine Life Sciences: The Future Is in Sight
13