The Julie N. is a Liberian tanker involved in the oil spill occurring on the Fore River on September 27, 1996 in Portland, Maine. The 560 ft (170 m) ship carries over 200,000 barrels (32,000 m 3 ) heating oil and heads to the docking station in South Portland to disassemble its contents.
Video Julie N. oil spill
Accident
To get to the boat docks station must pass through a narrow channel between the two sides of the Million Dollar Bridge while the moving bridge range is raised. Operating a Julie-sized vessel is considered very difficult because the horizontal opening of the Million Dollar Bridge is only 95 feet (29 m) wide, while the ship's width is 85 feet (26 m). This only allows space for five feet (1.5 m) on both sides of the tanker to maneuver. Official accident reports state that the ship operator directs the crew members to point to the left (left), while it is meant that the ship is pushed to the right (right). What resulted from the miscommunication between Julie N.'s crew was that the ship drove to the right side of the Million Dollar Bridge. The impact of the tanker crashing into the bridge caused a hole in the hull that was more than 30 feet (9.1 m) in length. Oil immediately surged into the Fore River, with wind and ocean currents sending oil upstream to swamps and river estuaries. More than 179,600 US gallons (680,000 liters) of oil spewed from Julie N.'s stomach to the local environment.
Maps Julie N. oil spill
Cleanup
Local authorities and countries quickly responded to disasters with the Maine Environmental Protection Department assuming command of the cleaning process. Although the spill was contained relatively early in the incident, miles of coastline and swamp were lined with oil. The cleaning process takes several days and costs 43 million dollars. The oil spill that occurs in the Fore River does not have as much environmental consequences as originally assumed. Wildlife remains, for the most part, safe because a small number of animals die or are seriously injured as a result of the spill, even though Maine DEP recorded about 1,600 dirty birds. Flushing and hot water techniques are used to clean the intricate estuaries upstream of the Fore River. The cleaning effort works largely because nearly 80 percent of the toxins that enter the bay of Julie N. are rediscovered.
Effects and aftermath
An estimated 38,000 gallons of US (140,000 liters) of oil can not be cleaned and traces of oil can still be found in the region from this disaster. Despite this fact, wildlife is now expanding in areas once preoccupied with chemicals. The spill has a significant impact on the local economy as Maine lobster and fish prices decline due to national media coverage of the oil spill. The fisheries authority also ordered no private or commercial fishing within the 16-mile (26 km) zone, further damaging the local fishery economy. Furthermore, several thousand lobster traps have to be replaced due to oil contamination.
The Million Dollar Bridge only suffered minor damage that did not affect its structural integrity. While the horizontal range of the limited bridge was partially blamed for the accident, the new Casco Bay Bridge was under construction during that time and opened for traffic the following year. The new bridge has a much larger horizontal span and has more advanced pole protection for ship collisions.
References
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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