An Evaluation of the Environmental Impact of Oil Pollution from Maritime Transportation

Abstract

Maritime transportation, which has a growing share in global transportation, and especially ships with large carrying capacities, increases the risk of marine environment pollution. The fact that maritime transport takes place not only in the open seas, but also in coastal waters, narrow waters with high navigational risk, and sea areas in the vicinity of ecologically sensitive zones necessitates prediction and calculation of this risk, as well as taking precautionary measures. This study seeks to identify optimal intervention strategies and determine where and when interventions should take place to minimize the adverse effects of potential oil pollution on the marine environment, utilizing a simulation model based on the example of Istanbul's Tuzla shipyard region. The Potential Incident Simulation and Evaluation System (PISCES) decision support system, which predicts the spread of pollution based on the behavior of oil in water, was used in the simulation. As oil weathering processes, which result in evaporation, emulsification, and dispersion, vary depending on the type of oil, weather, and oceanographic conditions, their seasonal average values were obtained from the relevant institutions and entered into the simulation. In the dispersion of oil, the surface current structure, which plays the most pivotal role, has been established by PISCES, based on the reference vector obtained from the relevant institute. Given that, once the oil disperses, starts to submerge and sedimentation occurs, intervention becomes impossible, leading to long-lasting negative impacts on the marine ecosystem, timely response to marine pollution caused by ships is of utmost importance. Intervention strategies should be selected based on dispersion time and quantity, as well as the duration of the interaction of oil with the coast. Another consequence is that oil pollution can affect not only the marine environment but other areas as well, such as adjacent environmentally sensitive areas, causing devastation to the marine habitat.