Facts and figures
In a study on the sources of oil
spills, the US National Academy of Sciences provides the following statistics
on spills due to oil tankers:
- 1973: 200,000 t (3.4% of total discharge)
- 1981: 400,000 t (12.3% of total discharge)
- 1989: 114,000 t (unknown % of total discharge)
- 2000: 162,000 t (6% of total discharge).
With the exception of 1989, these quantities do not represent the actual spill volumes for the year displayed, but rather are averages over each 8-year period, taken from annual statistics provided by the International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation Ltd (ITOPF).
The data gives us an accurate picture of the extent of spills, including
the parts which evaporated or burnt.
Pollution caused by the Haven spill, Italy
Pipelines as targets
Colombia: repeated sabotage
The 700 km long Colombian pipeline
put into operation in 1985 between Caño Limon and Covenas, near the
Venezuelan border, seemingly holds the world record for sabotage by guerrilla
warfare. By the end of 1997, it had suffered 495 attacks, causing spills
totalling an estimated 145,000 tonnes. In 1999, the 46th explosion of the
year caused a spill in the Limon River, causing several tens of cubic metres
of oil to flow downstream to Venezuela. In 2001, a renewal of guerrilla
warfare resulted in no less than 117 spills during the first 8 months of
the year.
Iraq: one sabotage attack amongst others
On 14 September 2004, saboteurs attacked a location where several pipelines
met to cross the Tigris River near the city of Beiji, 250 km north of Baghdad.
The burning crude oil escaping
from the fractured pipelines ran downhill into the river. It took 3 days
to control the fire. The attack occurred just as technicians had finished
repairing two valves damaged by a previous explosion.
Massive arrival of pollutant on the shoreline