by Jase Hatcher, Senior Oceans Campaigner for Shipping; Paloma Henriques, Senior Petrochemical Campaigner; and Dr. Sian Prior, Shipping Advisor for the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition
The recent crash in the North Sea of the container ship MV Solong and the oil tanker MV Stena Immaculate was a tragedy on many levels, with one crew member losing their life. The MV Stena Immaculate was carrying 220,000 barrels of kerosene (jet fuel), which caught fire from the collision – and both vessels would have been carrying maritime fuel oil. Adding to the damage, some oil spilled into an area of the North Sea rich with wildlife, much of the jet fuel has burnt, and yet the environmental impact of the fuel spill is still uncertain. But concerningly, another environmental tragedy has unfolded from the crash – the spilling of millions of plastic pellets, which threaten important seabird, marine mammal and fish populations in the North Sea.
Plastic pellets, often called nurdles, are the pre-production components of nearly all plastic items. A large source of pellet spills occur during routine plastic production, road and rail transport, storage, loading and cleaning. But as the building blocks to plastic products, they are transported across the world in the most common way to transport cargo globally – on large ships. The handling and packaging of these pellets on cargo ships is a serious environmental concern. Aside from being a major source of microplastics in the ocean, these tiny petrochemicals are nearly impossible to clean up on land and at sea, and can easily be mistaken as food by wildlife.
Spill response efforts are severely lacking. When a shipping container full of plastic pellets fell off the container ship CMA CGM Bianca in the Port of New Orleans, it spilled millions of plastic pellets into the Mississippi River. The lack of spill response cooperation caused an estimated 75% of the pellets to be swept downstream. Internationally, plastic pellet spills related to cargo ships near Portugal and Northern Spain, off the coast of Sri Lanka (classified by the UN as Sri Lanka’s worst maritime disaster), and off the coast of South Africa have led to years of clean up. The pellets from the South Africa spill showed up 8,000 kilometers away on the beaches of Western Australia. Once washed up on the beach, these pellets, the size of a lentil, must be sifted by hand or specialized equipment, sometimes requiring years of concerted and cooperative efforts by local communities and governments – resources many communities do not have. In addition to these big spills, a significant amount of pellets are lost in transit. An estimated 10 trillion plastic pellets enter the environment each year. These pellets are also hazardous to the environment owing to the presence of chemical additives, and their ability to accumulate bacteria and other pollutants like toxic sponges.
Upstream solutions – including the regulation and curbing of all plastic production – are critical for our oceans’ future, and the future of all beings and communities who steward our waters. International agencies and member states cannot abdicate responsibility for the current lack of mandatory provisions that must act as crucial safeguards while we push for stronger regulation.
As the international body that regulates shipping, the International Maritime Organization has an important role to play in preventing plastic pellet spills transported by sea in freight containers.
Mourning yet another environmental tragedy in our oceans is not enough. A recent nationwide survey showed that 63% of Americans across the political spectrum are very concerned about plastics in rivers, oceans and waterways. It’s time for IMO member states to act with urgency to classify pellets appropriately and treat them as the pollutants they are. Additionally, we must develop mandatory measures for pellet packaging, notification, stowage, and pollution response. Only then can we prevent future incidents and devastation to our oceans.