From Deepwater Horizon: “There are recurring themes of missed warning signals, failure to share information, and a general lack of appreciation for the risks involved. In the view of the Commission, these findings highlight the importance of organizational culture and a consistent commitment to safety by industry, from the highest management levels on down.” When […]

More from the Deepwater Horizon Report: ”In the years before the Macondo blowout, neither industry nor government adequately addressed these risks. Investments in safety, containment, and response equipment and practices failed to keep pace with the rapid move into deepwater drilling. Absent major crises, and given the remarkable financial returns available from deepwater reserves, the […]

When an individual or group stands up for the environment in a court of law, costs are capped under the Aarhus convention, meaning that you know what you are getting into and won’t face ruin if you lose. The UK government tried to amend that and remove the cost cap – Friends of the Earth, […]

Following on from our last oil leak, here’s a link to the December 2016 minutes of the MF SAC management group: http://www.morayfirth-partnership.org/assets/files/SAC%20Minute/2016-12-14-MF-SAC-MG-Minute.pdf This time the Highland Council and CFPA failed to make it – however, MS, SEPA and SNH were all in attendance. Of interest to us, “Marine Scotland will continue to assess the risks […]

Finally, the Moray Firth SAC Management Group release their December 2016 minutes – you will remember this was the time when the “2nd application” was going to be submitted. It wasn’t. It’s taken until their recent 2017 meeting to approve the minutes. Before we get to that we thought we’d take a look at the June 2016 […]

Not Greece this time but Denmark – this time a fuel tank losing some 52,000 gallons of diesel. Our correspondent says that locals have been ordered not to swim in the sea or eat anything from the sea….. https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/world/europe/danes-to-investigate-oil-spill-north-of-german-border/2017/09/08/26b2d01c-9480-11e7-8482-8dc9a7af29f9_story.html Yes, it’s not an STS incident – but another example of what happens when processes fail and complacency sets […]

Further to our post the other night about the Greek disaster – here’s an interesting piece from Channel4 – worth a look:https://www.facebook.com/Channel4News/videos/10155239154181939/  

……another oil tanker collision, this time, no oil spilled, however, the dredger it hit sank, with 5 crew unaccounted for. OK, the Moray Firth is not Singapore, but the potential for an oil tanker hitting a cruise ship, coastal tanker, dredger, pipe laying boat (to name a few) is still there…..what’s the risk? We don’t […]

Another day, another environmental disaster – this time a small tanker sinking off Greece carrying 2500 tonnes of heavy fuel oil. The Greek authorities are struggling to cope. It has been reported by various source, although only worthy of a few lines – that’s how un-newsworthy this kind of disaster has become. Now just thing […]

More lessons from Deepwater Horizon: “As the Board that investigated the loss of the Columbia space shuttle noted, “complex systems almost always fail in complex ways.” Though it is tempting to single out one crucial misstep or point the finger at one bad actor as the cause of the Deepwater Horizon explosion, any such explanation […]