Boston-based Sea Machines Robotics says it has entered into cooperative agreement with the U.S. Maritime Administration to test the use of autonomous technology in marine oil-spill response operations. Under the agreement, Sea Machines will install its SM300 autonomous-command system aboard a Marine Spill Response Corp. (MSRC)-owned MARCO skimming vessel and execute a … [Read more...]
Sanchi Oil Spill Drifts Toward Japan
by Osamu Tsukimori (Reuters) - Clumps of oil have washed up on the shores of southern Japan and there are fears they may be leaking from an Iranian crude tanker than sank in the world’s worst such disaster in decades, the Japanese Coast Guard said on Friday. Black clumps have reached the shores of the island of Amami-Oshima, a coast guard official told Reuters by phone. … [Read more...]
China To Invest In Offshore Oil Spill Research
by Chen Aizhu (Reuters) - China’s Ministry of Transport is planning to establish a laboratory specializing in treating oil spills at sea, the first of its kind in the country, local media Science and Technology Daily reported on Sunday. China is spending some 200 million yuan a year on researches for emergency treatment of oil spills but the technological expertise has not … [Read more...]
Canada is Not Ready To Handle a Major Spill, “Numerous Shortcomings” Found
By David Ljunggren OTTAWA, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Canada's offshore petroleum boards are not equipped to cope with a major spill, the country's environmental watchdog warned on Tuesday in a report that also said the booming energy sector needed more oversight. Environment Commissioner Scott Vaughan said in a report that unless Canada improved its record on environmental … [Read more...]
Environmentalists Say Arctic Nations’ Oil Spill Plans are Too Vague and Little Practical Value
By Environment Correspondent Alister Doyle OSLO, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Plans by Arctic nations to start cooperating over oil spills are vague and fail to define corporate liability for any accidents in an icy region opening up to oil and gas exploration due to global warming, environmentalists said on Monday. A 21-page document by the eight-nation Arctic Council, seen by … [Read more...]