216
T/ze Last Resource
gallons of napalm and several rockets were unleashed at the ship.
On Thursday, March 30, it was decided that no signicant
quantity of oil remained in the wreck and all effort was then centred
on the ght to clean over 100 miles of Cornish coastline which had
received an estimated 15 per cent of the tanker’s cargo.
Within twelve hours of the Torrey Canyon foundering, the Royal
Navy had deployed two ships to spray detergent on to the growing
oil slicl< in order to disperse it and the number of ships increased
dramatically over the next few days as oil continued to escape from
the stricken tanker. Initially, winds and tides combined to carry the
early release of oil away from the British mainland (part of this oil
arrived eventually in Brittany) but the morning tide of Saturday,
March 25 brought the rst thick oil to the Cornish coast near St
Just. As the oil continued to sweep in on to the beaches, counter—
measures, largely spraying with detergent, started in earnest. These
cleaning—up operations were spurred on by the fact that the area
included holiday resorts anxious to prevent the oil from mining their
shore amenities. Unfortunately, the widespread, and sometimes
over—enthusiastic, application of detergents had a disastrous effect
on marine shore—life. The oil did far less damage to wild life than did
the detergent except for an early massacre of sea birds—guillemots
and razorbills.
The rapid decision to spray the oil—Slick with detergent was made
because the Royal Navy and harbour authorities had regularly used
_
this method to disperse small oil spills. In spite of warnings about
the possible effects of the detergent on marine life, the main debate
over this decision concerned the cost and effectiveness of spraying.
According to one estimate, some 700,000 gallons of detergent
dispersed at a cost of £400,000 something like 15,000 tons of oil,
which would otherwise have been carried to the neighbouring
coastline. The French, who tackled the oil much later when the
loss of volatile components had thickened it, used a much cheaper
material—sawdust mixed with powdered chalk—to sink the oil.
According to a Marine Biology Association report, the French
estimated that 3,000 tons of the chalk and sawdust mixture could
sink up to 20,000 tons of oil. The French also had time to adapt a
ship for pumping the thicker layers of oil from the surface of the
sea.
As a result of the Tarrcy Canyon, major American, British and
Dutch oil companies suggested in 1968 a voluntary scheme Which
T/ze Last Resource
gallons of napalm and several rockets were unleashed at the ship.
On Thursday, March 30, it was decided that no signicant
quantity of oil remained in the wreck and all effort was then centred
on the ght to clean over 100 miles of Cornish coastline which had
received an estimated 15 per cent of the tanker’s cargo.
Within twelve hours of the Torrey Canyon foundering, the Royal
Navy had deployed two ships to spray detergent on to the growing
oil slicl< in order to disperse it and the number of ships increased
dramatically over the next few days as oil continued to escape from
the stricken tanker. Initially, winds and tides combined to carry the
early release of oil away from the British mainland (part of this oil
arrived eventually in Brittany) but the morning tide of Saturday,
March 25 brought the rst thick oil to the Cornish coast near St
Just. As the oil continued to sweep in on to the beaches, counter—
measures, largely spraying with detergent, started in earnest. These
cleaning—up operations were spurred on by the fact that the area
included holiday resorts anxious to prevent the oil from mining their
shore amenities. Unfortunately, the widespread, and sometimes
over—enthusiastic, application of detergents had a disastrous effect
on marine shore—life. The oil did far less damage to wild life than did
the detergent except for an early massacre of sea birds—guillemots
and razorbills.
The rapid decision to spray the oil—Slick with detergent was made
because the Royal Navy and harbour authorities had regularly used
_
this method to disperse small oil spills. In spite of warnings about
the possible effects of the detergent on marine life, the main debate
over this decision concerned the cost and effectiveness of spraying.
According to one estimate, some 700,000 gallons of detergent
dispersed at a cost of £400,000 something like 15,000 tons of oil,
which would otherwise have been carried to the neighbouring
coastline. The French, who tackled the oil much later when the
loss of volatile components had thickened it, used a much cheaper
material—sawdust mixed with powdered chalk—to sink the oil.
According to a Marine Biology Association report, the French
estimated that 3,000 tons of the chalk and sawdust mixture could
sink up to 20,000 tons of oil. The French also had time to adapt a
ship for pumping the thicker layers of oil from the surface of the
sea.
As a result of the Tarrcy Canyon, major American, British and
Dutch oil companies suggested in 1968 a voluntary scheme Which