The dramatic images of a collision between two ships in the North Sea last week, with one carrying 220,000 barrels of jet fuel, sparked alarm amongst conservationists and environmentalists. In the media scramble to establish the facts, it was reassuring to see that the potential consequences for marine wildlife were given more than their usual share of airtime and column inches.
This is at least in part due to a recognition by the media of the hard-won efforts and successes in restoring the damaged ecology of the North Sea after years of neglect and degradation.
But while it seems that a major oil spill crisis may have been averted, more by luck than design, this incident should make us even more acutely aware that according to Oceana, UK seas suffered more than two oil or chemical spills a day last year, totalling over 82,000 kg of oil and 149,700 kg of chemicals
One single chemical spill in the Alba oil field off north-east Scotland in August 2024 totalled 11,170 kg, and contained 2,800 kg of a biocide of “acute toxicity” described as “very toxic to aquatic life with long lasting effects.”
Minke and killer whales, white-beaked dolphin and especially high densities of the declining harbour porpoise have all been recorded in the vicinity of the field, according to government data. The spill took place just 25 km from a marine protected area.
There has been no formal investigation into this spill and the government has failed to respond to Oceana UK’s Freedom of Information request into details of any enforcement action or steps taken to address the spill. Oceana has now referred the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero to the Information Commissioner’s Office.
Wildlife forced to swim in such polluted waters come into direct contact with these chemicals and oil through the skin, when feeding, or by inhaling toxic vapours. Contamination from oil and gas developments has been shown to have a wide range of impacts, from lung disease in dolphins to cancers in seabirds and deformation and breeding disruption in fish.
Naomi Tilley, Oil & Gas Campaign Lead for Oceana UK, said: “This sickening level of toxic pollution should be headline news – yet for years, opaque reporting has meant that Big Oil have been using UK waters as an oil and chemical dump without public scrutiny. We urge everyone who cares about our ocean to use the map to help us expose this hidden outrage. Seeing the data laid out makes it crystal clear that the oil and gas industry cannot be trusted with UK seas.”
As the North Sea collision shows, the risks are not exclusive to the oil and gas industry. Sea freight is predicted to increase annually and AI is even set to exert its growing influence over shipping in the form of unmanned ships. Based on reports from Lloyd’s List Intelligence, a global leader in maritime data, the number of recorded ship collisions per year has averaged 350 to 400 incidents globally. While the recent incident in the North Sea reminded us of the risks, it should be a wake up call to never become complacent about cumulative unreported incidents that are affecting our marine environments every day.
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