THE INTERNATIONAL MARITIME TRANSPORT & LOGISTICS CONFERENCE
(MARLOG 2)
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF SUEZ CANAL REGION
17 - 19 MARCH 2013
Risks Assessment of Oil and Gas Transportation in the Suez Canal Sector
CAPTAIN: IBRAHIM EL ATTAR
Department of nautical Studies, Port Training Institute
Arab Academy for Science &Technology & Maritime Transport
Email: [email protected]
CAPTAIN: WAEL KHATTAB
Department of nautical Studies
Arab Academy for Science &Technology & Maritime Transport
Email: [email protected]
ABSTRACT:
Transportation of oil and gas by Sea imposes challenges from a safety
viewpoint. In this type of transportation, different sizes of special tankers carrying
oil and gas. The marine transportation of these scarce natural riches is involved
with risks and hazards, which may lead to many losses; for instance, wasting oil
and gas, injuries of people, damaging ships and properties, and damaging
environment. The main purpose of this paper is to evaluate the risks, hazards, and
accidents during transportation of oil and gas (mainly Crude Oil, liquefied
petroleum gas, and Liquefied natural gas) by Sea with concentrating on transport
safety. Hence, a better understanding of these risks and hazards can contribute to
decrease of addressed losses.
This study is carried out on risks associated with maritime transportation of
oil and gas starting with describing the general casual chain (dealing with causes,
incidents, accidents and consequences/causalities), continuing with describing risk
analysis techniques (including event tree analysis and fault tree analysis) and risk
control measures/options, and finally implementing aforesaid investigations on
real data from two areas; namely Suez canal sector and associated seas.
Keywords: Oil & Gas transportation, Risk assessment ,Suez Canal
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SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF SUEZ CANAL REGION
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Introduction
The Suez Canal is an artificial sea-level
waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean
Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869
after 10 years of construction work, it allows
transportation by water between Europe and Asia
without navigation around Africa. The northern
terminus is Port Said and the southern terminus is
Port Tawfiq at the city of Suez. Ismailia lies on its
west bank, 3 km (1.9 mi) from the half-way point.
When first built, the canal was 164 km (102 mi)
long and 8 m (26 ft) deep. After multiple
enlargements, the canal is 193.30 km (120.11 mi)
long, 24 m (79 ft) deep and 205 meters (673 ft)
wide as of 2010. It consists of the northern access
channel of 22 km/14 mi, the canal itself of 162.25
km/100.82 mi and the southern access channel of 9
km/5.6 mi.
The canal is single lane with passing places in the "Ballah By-Pass" and the
Great Bitter Lake. It contains no locks; seawater flows freely through the canal. In
general, the canal north of the Bitter Lakes flows north in winter and south in
summer. The current south of the lakes changes with the tide at Suez.
The canal is owned and maintained by the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) of
Egypt. Under international treaty, it may be used "in time of war as in time of
peace, by every vessel of commerce or of war, without distinction of flag.
Risk of grounding, stranding or perhaps Engine failure for ships transiting
Suez Canal is very high. Hence, risk of a ”single” Maritime causality incident,
with the dependent world trade volume navigating via daily, can cause no doubt
major disruption to the global economy ,delaying cargo, increasing shipping
freight and demurrage .
The issue of maritime transportation of dangerous goods with the risks they
create has gained more attention in comparison with recent past and it has become
one of the most important subjects in today’s environmental and transportation
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SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF SUEZ CANAL REGION
17 - 19 MARCH 2013
writing, which requires close scrutiny with great emphasis on sound and practical
risk management, mostly due to increasing global demand for crude oil and
petroleum products as well as a consequent worldwide increase of tanker traffic
(Iakovou 2010).
Importance & Advantages of The Canal
Importance of the Canal
•
The Suez Canal is considered to be the shortest link between the east and
the west due to its unique geographic location; it is an important
international navigation canal linking between the Mediterranean sea at
Port said and the red sea at Suez .The unique geographical position of the
Suez Canal makes it of special importance to the world and to Egypt as
well.
•
This importance is getting augmented with the evolution of maritime
transport and world trade. The maritime transport is the cheapest means of
transport, whereas more than 80 % of the world trade volume is
transported via waterways (seaborne trade).
•
Saving in distance , time and in operating costs for vessels that transit the
Canal, also firm up this importance.
Advantages of the Suez Canal
• It is the longest canal in the world without locks.
• The accidents are almost nil compared with other waterways.
•
Navigation goes day and night.
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•
•
•
The Canal is liable to be widened and deepened when required, to cope
with the development in ship sizes and tonnages.
With the adoption of the Vessel Traffic Management System (VTMS) ( a
system depending upon the most up-to-date radar network), vessels can be
monitored and followed on every spot of the Canal and intervention in
emergency cases can be taken.
The Suez Canal accommodates the partially loaded VLCCs and ULCCs .
Traffic statistics for Dec. 2012, when compared with Dec. 2011 signal:
• 175 Vessels ( 11.1 % ) decrease in the number of transits.
• 3.8 million tons ( 4.7 % ) decrease in net tonnage . This decrease resulted
from the decrease in the net tonnage of LNG Ships, Bulk Carr., Combined
Carr, Container Ships, Car Carr. and passenger Ships.
• while the net tonnage for Tankers, General Cargo, Ro \ Ro, and Others
Ships increased .
• 5 flags increased in 65 flags represented the Suez canal traffic this month ,
topped by Panama, Liberia and Marshall Is.
• 0.3 % increase in Cargo traffic, southbound Cargo registered a decrease of
4.2 % , while the northbound Cargo increased by 5.8 % .
• 10.4 % increase in quantities of Southbound oil products and 43.1 %
increase in quantities of Northbound oil products
No. Vessels by Gross Ton
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Source: Suez Canal Authority 2010.
Analyzing above tables, shows no doubt tremendous increase in ship's
tonnage and TEU's! nonetheless fluctuations in cargo rates due to global
economical recession. Regardless, the important question would rise ! Recession
or not, what will be the impact of closure of Suez Canal even for one week due to
a single Maritime causality happening in Suez Canal on the global economy?
The Suez Canal allows ships traveling between the east and the west to
avoid the long journey around the Cape of Good Hope, cutting routes by an
average of 6,000 miles. Although the latest generation of huge supertankers
cannot traverse the canal fully-laden, it remains one of the world's most important
waterways. Around 80% of global sea-borne trade passes through the canal.
Around 2.4m barrels of oil are shipped through the canal each day, Sailing around
Africa would add around two weeks to journey times, which could lead to some
short-term supply issues – and potentially nudge up prices.
The Guardian in its Q & A about the Suez canal published on February
2011 by Graeme Wearden that: (much of the exports earmarked for Asia found
their way into western European markets, which in turn were attempting to cope
with both the obstruction to oil transport from the Middle East and a brief Arab oil
embargo … The overall impact of the total eight-year closure was largely
negative. Deliveries to Asia, in particular, suffered the most.).
A long-term closure would have major implications for the world economy.
The canal was shut between 1967 and 1975 following the Arab-Israeli War, which
left Egyptian troops on one side of the waterway and Israel's forces on the other.
World trade declined steadily through most of this period, according to research
by James Feyrer, Professor of Economics at Dartmouth College.
Barclays Capital has also analysed the impact of the eight-year closure, and
discovered that Asian countries suffered the most.
Analysts point out that the eight-year closure prompted shipmakers to build
larger oil tankers, as they were not constricted by having to fit into the 24 meterdeep, 205 meter-wide canal.
Crude oil and oil tankers transit Suez Canal
Oil tankers, in other words; petroleum tankers are designed for the bulk
transport of oil. Basically, there are two sorts of oil tankers; namely crude tanker and
product tanker. Product tankers are usually smaller compare to crude tankers. Crude
tankers transport large amounts of crude oil from the point of extraction to the point
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SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF SUEZ CANAL REGION
17 - 19 MARCH 2013
of refineries; on the other hand, transporting petrochemicals from the point of
refineries to the point of near consuming market is a task upon product market
(Keever 2003).
Crude oil, liquefied gases (LNG, LPG), and petroleum products tankers (such
as gasoline, jet fuel, and others) are subsets of bulk liquid and for the type of cargo,
they are placed in the bulk cargo. Transferring huge amount of presented bulk liquid
cargoes are carried out by special designed tankers with bulk cargoes. (Mullai 2006).
Risk Assessment As a Definition
A risk assessment is simply a careful examination of what, in your work,
could cause harm to people, so that you can weigh up whether you have taken
enough precautions or should do more to prevent harm. Workers and others have
a right to be protected from harm caused by a failure to take reasonable control
measures. Accidents and ill health can ruin lives and affect your business too if
output is lost, machinery is damaged, insurance costs increase or you have to go to
court. You are legally required to assess the risks in your workplace so that you
put in place a plan to control the risks.
"www.hse.gov.uk/risk/risk-assessment.htm.2013."
Risk of oil and Gas pollution in Suez Canal
The issue of maritime transportation of dangerous goods with the risks they
create has gained more attention in comparison with recent past and it has become
one of the most important subjects in today’s environmental and transportation
writing, a clear example would be the 1987-built 96,967 dwt crude oil tanker
Grigoroussa I lost 3,000 tons of heavy fuel in the Suez Canal in February after
contact with a quay caused a leak, according to an official at the Canal authority.
The biggest pollution incident in 2004 involving the KOTC VLCC Al Samidoon
also occurred in the Suez Canal." INTERTANKO 2006".
This requires close scrutiny with great emphasis on sound and practical risk
management, mostly due to increasing global demand for crude oil and petroleum
products as well as a consequent worldwide increase of tanker traffic.
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SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF SUEZ CANAL REGION
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In the case of accident, marine transport of dangerous goods has shared large
proportion of accidents with fatalities compare to other modes of transport,
especially when the dangerous goods come to the subject of oil and gas (Romer,
Haastrup et al. 1995).
Statistics is an evidence for maritime transportation of oil and gas by tanker
to be as risky as transport it via pipeline (Lesikhina, Rudaya et al. 2007). In spite
of increasing and rapid production of transportation of oil and gas by water in
bulk, the risks and hazards still exist due to paucity of pondering over this subject.
Reviewing of many accidents case histories depicts that ships carrying oil and gas
were involved in serious marine accidents in that many ships have been
completely disappeared with cargoes on board in coastal and sensitive regions,
large amount of these scarce and valuable natural riches are vanished over board,
miles of beaches have been sealed for many days, and many companies have been
subjected to costly recovery or cleaning up operations.
Marine transportation of oil and gas is keeping up to avoid accidents toward
person, property and damage to the environment. From this respect, strategic
planning at different levels are intended aiming to improve the safety, health and
protecting the marine environment. This paper deals with recognizing and
mitigating risks relating to the marine transportation of oil and gas, mainly in the
cases of crude oil, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), and liquefied natural gas (LNG)
wishing to achieve the most efficiency.
Questions Raised
Are Fresh SIRE reports for all vessels related to hydrocarbon transiting Suez
Canal were vetted?
Identification of hazards and risk assessment for tankers can only be checked from
the SIRE of the Oil Companies International Marine Forum OCIMF
What is the risk of oil and Gas on Suez Canal?
Identification of hazards and accidents scenarios, together with potential causes
and outcomes
What happened?
Risk assessment-use of risk analysis techniques
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Petroleum Pollution
The REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
IMPROVEMENT PROJECT (REMIP) The Ain Sukhna area in the Gulf of Suez
was also found to suffer from extensive chronic
Petroleum pollution inputs, as it is evident in the vicinity of the SUMED pipeline
company.
terminals, which include both floating and land-based receiving terminals.
Production and Transportation of Oil
Oil is transported in the shipping lanes bordering Egypt’s coastline in vast
quantities. Much of the world’s trade in oil is centered on the Middle East, which
produces about one quarter of the oil transported globally.
Around 117 million tons of crude oil per annum are shipped through the
pipeline in the Gulf of Suez, and the vast majority of this cargo is trans-shipped to
the ultimate customers in the European countries from the Mediterranean
terminal. In addition, about 36 million tons of petroleum products are transported
annually through the Suez Canal (of which 26 million tons is northbound).
Furthermore, about 85 % of Egypt’s production site of oil and gas are
located in coastal waters. The production facilities in the Gulf of Suez produce 36
million tons of oil and gas annually.
Offshore production in the Mediterranean is becoming an increasingly
important activity, also.
The Gulf Region fatefully faces the threats of oil pollution caused by
various sources as mentioned above. Therefore, appropriate measures for limiting
the risks of contamination of waters and for conserving marine and coastal
biodiversity have to be addressed.
General Principles for Protecting Coastal and Marine Environment
The “Egypt State of the Environment Report (2004)” refers to the following
principles to be pursued in the seas and coastal zone management in Egypt. For
addressing the problems in coastal and marine environment, EEAA states a
number of general principles to be monitored:
These principles are:
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SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF SUEZ CANAL REGION
17 - 19 MARCH 2013
•
Marine pollution threatens all state sectors, and therefore, marine pollution
prevention is a collective responsibility, not restricted to one entity;
•
Each sector is required to prevent the sources from marine pollution resulting
from its activity, in accordance with local laws and according to and in
compliance with international and regional conventions;
•
corresponding to the hazards such sector causes or is exposed to; and
•
Encouraging private sector participation in marine pollution prevention and
establishing specialized companies for that purpose.
National Strategies for Oil Spill Combat
The “National Oil Spill Contingency Plan (NOSCP)” specifically states national
combat strategies against oil spill incidents, as below:
Foreign and Egyptian ships are forbidden to discharge oil or oily mixtures into the
territorial sea or the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the Arab Republic of
Egypt (ARE). This is in accordance with the Article 49 of the Law No. 4 in the
implementation of the MARPOL 73/78 Convention. Similarly, companies
extracting or exploiting offshore oil fields and other natural marine resources,
including oil transport facilities, are forbidden to discharge any polluting materials
resulting from drilling, exploration, testing of wells, or production activities, into
the territorial sea or the EEZ of the ARE (the Article 52 of the Law No. 4).
In accordance with the Article 48 of the Law No. 4, the responsibility for the
implementation of these measures rests with MSEA in coordination with the
Minister of Maritime Transport and all concerned administrative authorities
mentioned in the definition the Article 1 of the Law, each within their field of
competence.
According to the NOSCP, the national combat strategy against oil spill incidents
will be based on the following principles:
• Terminate or reduce the outflow of oil from the source;
• Monitor the oil slick, where marine or coastal resources are not threatened;
• Attempt control and recovery of the oil at sea by use of mechanical means;
• Apply dispersants only in accordance with the national policy for dispersant
use;
•
Protect sensitive areas according to the priority ranking of the NOSCP; and
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Shoreline clean-up.
Meanwhile, an oil spill contingency plan against regional-level incidents has not
been established in Egypt. In Gulf Region, RSPA, SCA and oil-related entities,
RSPA have set individual contingency plans against small-scale incident.
Conclusion: Basic Method of Fingerprint Analysis
Oils and oil products are mainly comprised of various hydrocarbons with
small part of contents of inorganic constituents. It is widely known that the
composition features of oils and oil products are depending on production fields
and they have their own specific figures.
Based on this fact, the source of certain spilled oil in the incident can be
identified by knowing chemical compositions of oils.
In actual oil spill to the environment, some oil components can be changed
in the composition rate due to the effect of physical, chemical and biochemical
phenomena. This alteration is called weathering. Therefore, actual identification
by fingerprint analysis is carried out, taking into account of the alteration likely
caused by weathering.
It is the recommendation of this paper that above method in addition to
primarily surveying territorial water daily to cover vast areas in short times
detecting at once any spill then hence applying above method on ships transiting
area to configure which ship caused spill in addition to port state measures on
ships in Canal area.
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www.hse.gov.uk/risk/risk-assessment.htm.2013
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