Oil Spills

1. Emergency Response 1.4.2 Grasping of Situation

Check the situation in accordance with the "Checklist (Oil
1.1 Report of Discovery of Oil Spills
Spill)(S-112004-02CHK)".
The crew member who discovers an oil spill on the ship or from
the ship shall immediately report the fact to the officer on watch 1.4.3 Initial Notification
and the chief of the work related to the oil spill in question. Immediately make the initial notifications in accordance with
The officer on watch shall immediately report about this to the Sec.5 notifications while endeavoring to prevent the spread of
master. the oil spill and to recover the oil.
1.2 Actions to Be Taken by Crew Members who 1.4.4 Request for Oil Elimination Assistance
When shore assistance is required for the oil prevention and
Found Oil Spills
eliminating work, request the assistance of the Company or the
Any crew member who found oil spills shall distribute oil
organization instructed by the Company such as the nearest
adsorbents, or any other action to be taken until the order to the
maritime safety authorities, etc.
crew members to take up "Oil Pollution Prevention Stations" is
given and the on-scene leader arrives. Actions, however, for 2. Work of Oil Pollution Prevention
the spilled oil on water shall be taken at the discretion of the
duty officer until the same order is given to the crew members
Station
1.3 Emergency Measures 2.1 Oil Spill Prevention and Response Measures
The master shall order the on-scene leader to carry out what is
1.3.1 If Oil Spills Occur during Cargo Operations of necessary out of the following work and continue to strive to
Oil Tanker prevent and reduce further oil spills:
The officer on cargo watch who receives the report of an oil Measures taken to prevent and reduce oil spills shall take
spill shall immediately take the following measures: priority over the consideration of the contamination or quality
a) If during unloading operations, immediately stop the cargo of the cargo oil.
pump and suspend the unloading operations and at the same 2.1.1 Oil Spills from Pipeline
time notify the terminal; Lower the pressure of the oil in the pipe line in question, and
b) If during loading operations, immediately contact the shore transfer by gravity or pump the oil remaining in the pipe line
terminal and have the sending of oil stopped; into another tank.
c) Close all manifold valves;
2.1.2 Tank Overflow
d) If during ballasting operations, stop the ballasting work and
a) Immediately transfer the oil overflowed from the tank into
another tank that has extra space.
close the valves concerned; e) If during use of IGS, stop it;
b) When there are no tanks at all with extra space, study the
possibility of transferring the oil ashore.
f) Notify the Engineer on watch (on duty); and
g) When there is an oil spill on the deck, close all deck scuppers, 2.1.3 Oil Leakage from Hull
open surface valves, open guts, and take other steps to prevent Carry out the following measures taking into consideration that
the oil from spilling overboard. oil will continue to flow out until the internal pressure of the oil
1.3.2 If Oil Spills Occur during Replenishing or tank is in balance with the external pressure of the sea water at
the tear in the hull:
Transferring of Fuel Oil or a) Lower the liquid level of the cargo oil tank in question by
Lubricating Oil immediately transferring the oil left in the damaged tank into
The chief of oil replenishing work, when he receives a report of another tank with extra space;
an oil spill, shall immediately take the following measures: b) When the tank with the oil leak cannot be determined, lower the
a) If during replenishing of fuel oil or lubricating oil, immediately liquid level of all the tanks in the vicinity. In such a case, full
notify the shore or barge to stop transferring oil; consideration shall be given to the hull strength and stability of
b) If during the transferring of fuel oil, lubrication oil, bilge, etc, the ship;
immediately stop the work; c) When it can be assumed that the oil is leaking from below the
c) Close the valves of the relevant pipe lines; and sea surface, suppress the outflow by closing the vent line and
d) Report the chief engineer. other upper deck openings of the tank in question;
1.3.3 Oil Spills Because of Accident d) Bring the ship into an effective condition for preventing the
outflow of oil by adjusting the ballast and other means; and
The master, when there is an oil spill due to a marine accident,
e) On oil tankers, lower the inert gas pressure in all cargo tanks
etc, shall take the following measures as far as practicable:
and lines down to the minimum positive pressure.
a) Move the ship's position to weather side of the oil spill by
changing the ship's course; and 2.2 Oil Spill Response Work
b) Close all openings to prevent the ingress of flammable gases The master shall order the on-scene leader to have the following
into the living quarters and engine room. work carried out:
1.4 Response by Master 2.2.1 Oil Spills Overboard
The master, when there is an oil spill, shall immediately take a) The ship's crew shall do what they can to control the oil
the following measures: spill by employing whatever usable equipment and
1.4.1 Orders to Give Oil Pollution Response material are on hand.
b) When a shore oil spill control contractor has been arranged
After checking the state of the oil spill, if oil pollution
for, give the contractor whatever information is necessary
prevention work is required, issue orders to the crew to take up
and also cooperate in the oil spill control work.
"Oil Pollution Prevention Stations".
2.2.2 Oil Spills on Deck g) It is Master's responsibility to confirm from the QI that
Recover, dispose of and clean up the oil that has been spilled by all required notifications are made.
using equipment for oil spill response (oil adsorbents, sawdust, 6. Recording and Sampling
straw mats, etc.) on hand on the ship. The master or the deck officer ordered by the master shall carry
3. Safety Check of Hull Strength and Stability out the following:
When the damage due to the accident is believed to be large 6.1 Records
scale and such means of preventing and reducing the oil spill as Record the following details of the accident in time series and
transferring cargo, adjusting ballast, etc. are carried out, the retain the record:
master shall check the safety of the ship by requesting the a) Measures carried out by the ship;
Company to make hull strength, stability and other calculations. b) Contents of communications with jurisdictional authorities, the
4. STS Operations Company, and other relevant parties;
When part or all of the oil in the ship needs to be transferred to c) Direction of flow and extent of diffusion of oil spill;
lighters (barges) or other vessels, it shall be done in accordance d) Weather conditions, tide, wind direction and force, and
with the OCIMF/ICS Publication "Ship to Ship Transfer Guide condition of sea surface;
(Petroleum)." e) Measures carried out by relevant shore parties;
f) Number of contractor's workers who were engaged in the oil
spill control work; and
5. Notification g) Types and quantities of equipment and materials used in oil
spill control work.
5.1 Parties to Be Notified 6.2 Photographs
a) Nearest maritime safety organization (when in Immediately after an accident, take photographs of the damage,
passage). oil spill and continue to do so at appropriate intervals.
b) Harbor master and responsible person of terminal In this case, flash bulbs shall not be used in areas where there is
(while in port). a risk of an explosion.
c) c) Company. 6.3 Sampling
d) P&I Club. Collect samples of the oil on board the ship and of the spilled
e) Other organizations as instructed by the Company. oil, completely seal the containers and paste labels on them
(Reference: Supplement "List of Contact showing the date, and place the samples were taken, etc.
Parties" to "Shipboard Oil Pollution Emergency Plan") 6.4 Entries in Ship's Log and Chief Engineer's Log
5.2 Matters to Be Notified (See S-112004-01FIG Enter the fact that there was an oil spill, the measures taken and
Make the initial notification in accordance with the Table 1 other necessary particulars..
Initial Notification Standard Format of "Shipboard Oil
Pollution Emergency Plan".
7. Preparation and Submission of
5.3 Continuation of Notification Documents
After the initial notification has been sent, continue to give the The master shall prepare the necessary documents in
relevant parties information on the following matters from time accordance with the procedure entitled "Records and Reports of
to time: Marine Casualty " and submit them to the Company.
a) Any serious change in the ship's condition;
b) The amount of spilled oil per hour and the spread of the oil;
8. Actions to Be Taken when Oil Spills
c) Weather and sea conditions; from Other Ships Are Found
d) Organizations and contractors to whom assistance has been Regardless of whether during passage or while berthed, when
requested; and an oil spill not originating from the ship is found on the sea, the
e) Nature of the oil spill control work now being carried out. master shall take the following measures so as to protect the
5.4 Reporting Procedure in the United States interests of the ship and to make it clear that the oil spill is not
a) In US waters, if there is an oil pollution incident, or a the responsibility of the ship:
significant threat of such an incident the Master shall a) Report the facts to the Company;
immediately notify the Qualified Individual who shall b) When the oil spill is large, report to the harbor master or the
make all the required notifications. maritime safety authorities;
b) If Master is unable to notify the QI immediately, then c) If possible, obtain samples;
he MUST make all the required notifications as per d) Check and record the names of the ships in the vicinity;
Vessel Response Plan. All notifications shall be e) If required, prepare a Notice of Liability and a Claim Letter;
logged and report numbers recorded. f) Contact P&I Representative.
c) The primary mode of communication for notifications
is voice telephone, however, for some notifications
from the vessel, e.g., to the local Coast Guard,
communications may be via radiotelephone. The
secondary mode for notifications is fax or email.
d) If a fax or email notification is made, it MUST be
followed by a telephone call to verify proper receipt of
the fax or email.
e) If notification to the NRC is by fax it MUST be
followed up by a telephone call within 15 minutes of
the fax notification.
f) The contracted OSRO to be notified within 30
minutes of the incident