Text 2. 1993: Oil tanker runs aground off Shetland

I. Read the text.

Make sure you understand the words below:

ruptured	broken
remote	distant
in place	ready
to predict	to forecast
wide-ranging	extensive
largely	mainly
lack	shortage

A tanker carrying 85,000 tonnes of crude oil has run aground in hurricane force winds off the Shetland Islands. The captain and crew of the vessel were airlifted to safety by helicopter when it became clear the disaster was imminent.

The Liberian-registered MV Braer tanker was on its way from Norway to Canada when it lost power in Force 11 gales early this morning. It ran aground on rocks in Quendale Bay, just west of Sunburgh Head, on the south tip of Shetland, just before midday, despite desperate efforts by salvage teams to prevent a collision.

Early reports suggest oil is already pouring from the ruptured tanks on the vessel.

The Shetland Islands Council has activated its major disaster plan in an attempt to prevent a major environmental catastrophe in the area, which is internationally known for seabirds and marine life.

But Greenpeace spokesperson Paul Horsman said it would be "impossible to prevent a major ecological catastrophe".

The 800-foot vessel was built in Japan in 1975 and does not have the more modern double hull which would reducethe chance of an oil spillage.

Local people in Shetland have long-expected an accident on their remote shores and emergency plans to deal with the environmental impact of such
a disaster are in place.

But a catastrophe on this scale was never predicted. The Braer was carrying twice as much crude oil as the Exxon Valdez, which ran aground off Alaska four years ago.

The Shipping Minister Lord Caithness has ordered a wide-ranging inquiry into the disaster.

A report into the disaster, published in 1994, said bad weather was largely to blame for the accident. But it also condemned the actions of the ship's captain, Alexandros Gelis, who demonstrated a fundamental lack of basic seamanship.

Vocabulary

imminent	неминуемый, неизбежный
desperate	отчаянный; безнадежный
to pour	литься
spillage	разлив (нефти)
impact	воздействие; влияние
to condemn	осуждать

II. Comprehension Check

Answer the questions to the text.

1. What ship was involved in the accident?

2. When were the captain and the crew transported to safety?

3. Why did the tanker run aground?

4. Was there any spill of oil?

5. What is the area of the disaster known for?

6. What's the opinion of the Greenpeace?

7. What might have reduced the oil spillage?

8. Why do you think residents in Shetland were ready for such a disaster?

9. Why is this accident far more serious than the one the Exxon Valdez had?

10. What are the conclusions made in the report of 1994?

III. Vocabulary Practice

1. Find an odd word.

a) condemn, contain, criticize, disapprove;

b) trouble, impact, influence, effect;

c) shortage, lack, deficiency, negligence.

2. Match the words in column A with those in column B to form a phrase. Use them in the sentences of your own.

A	B
1. salvage	a) spillage
2. ruptured	b) shores
3. environmental	c) tanks
4. oil	d) catastrophe
5. remote	e) plans
6. ecological	f) impact
7. emergency	g) team

3. Find the words from the text which mean the following:

· to be en route;

· to become out of control;

· end, top;

· to state something in an indirect way;

· to start, to make something start working;

· to take the necessary action, especially in order to solve a problem;

· the act or process of asking questions in order to get information;

· most basic, important.

Read and translate the sentences in which they are used.

IV. Grammar Review

Rephrase the following sentences using the verbs in brackets in the Passive:

1. It became clear the disaster could not … (prevent).

2. It ran aground despite desperate efforts by salvage teams for the collision … (avoid).

3. The chance of oil-spillage could … (reduce) with the more modern double hull.

V. Speech Practice

1. Explain in English what the following words and word groups mean:

seamanship; to airlift; emergency plan; wide-ranging inquiry.

2. Explain the underlined parts in your own words.

1. The Shetland Islands Council has activated its major disaster plan.

2. Emergency plans to deal with the environmental impact of such a disaster are in place.

3. But a catastrophe on this scale was never predicted.

3. Speak about the accident. Say if it is different from the disaster of 1989. Make use of the conversational formulas.

Stating your Opinion
· I am of the opinion that…	· My feelings on the matter are…
· It seems to me (that)…	· In my view,…
Agreeing	Disagreeing
· I (strongly) agree with…	· I (strongly) disagree with…
· I am in favour of…	· I am (totally) opposed to…

 

Text 3. Disaster strikes

I. Read the text.

Make sure you understand the words below:

to bring in	to ask for help
devastating	damaging, destroying
eventually	finally
extent	size, level
subsequent	following

 

Early on the evening of 15 February, 1996 the Sea Empress, a single hull oil tanker, began to enter the mouth of the Cleddau Estuary on her way to Milford Haven.

Sailing against the outgoing tide, at 2007 GMT she hit rocks in the middle of the channel, holing her below the waterline. The ship's cargo of 130,000 tonnes of crude North Sea oil started to spillinto the sea.

During the following seven days salvage teams battled the elements [35] as they tried to bring the vessel under control, but 72,000 tonnes of light crude oil escaped.

Planes were brought in to spray chemicals to try to disperse the rapidly-developing oil slick.

The spill had a devastating effect on the local shellfish [36] and some lobster fishermen claim the industry has never recovered.

After seven days the Sea Empress was eventually brought under control and taken into dock at Milford Haven.

She remained there until the end of March when she was towed across the Irish Sea. Only when she was in dry dock in Belfast could the extent of the damage be seen.

The tanker Sea Empress after it ran aground in February, 1996

120 miles of Welsh coastline were contaminated and the total cost of the clean-up operation was put at ₤60m.

One positive to emerge from the disaster was a review of safety at British ports and subsequent improvements.

Vocabulary

to hole	пробивать
to disperse	рассеивать
to contaminate	загрязнять, отравлять
to emerge	появляться

II. Comprehension Check

Answer the questions to the text.

1. When did the Sea Empress hit rocks?

2. How long did it take the salvage team to bring the ship under control?

3. What measures were taken to remove the oil slick?

4. What was mostly affected by the disaster?

5. What actions would be taken regarding safety at British ports?

III. Vocabulary Practice

1. Find an odd word.

a) condemn, contaminate, pollute, poison;

b) emerge, release, appear, arise;

c) hole, break, rupture, encounter;

d) disperse, spill, break up, split;

e) escape, leak, pour out, seek.

2. Find the words from the text which mean the following:

· four substances (earth, air, fire, and water) from which people used to believe that everything was made;

· to discharge a liquid from an aerosol;

· a substance used in chemistry or produced by a chemical process;

· a sea animal with eight legs, a shell, and two large claws;

· the act of making something better.

Read and translate the sentences in which they are used.

IV. Speech Practice

1. Rephrase the following sentences:

1.	Sailing against the outgoing tide, the ship hit rocks in the middle of the channel.
	The ship hit rocks when…
2.	The spill had a devastating effect on the local shellfish grounds.
	The local shellfish grounds were badly … by…
3.	Only when she was in dry dock in Belfast could the extent of the damage be seen.
	It was possible to inspect…
4.	After seven days the Sea Empress was eventually brought under control.
	It took the salvage team seven days to…
5.	One positive to emerge from the disaster was a review of safety at British ports and subsequent improvements.
	The disaster resulted in…

2. Explain the underlined parts in your own words.

1. Salvage teams battled the elements as they tried to bring the vessel under control.

2. Some lobster fishermen claim the industry has never recovered.

3. Speak about the accident.

 

Text 4. Crippled fuel oil tanker sinks

The Prestige oil slick must be considered one of the most damaging in the history of maritime transport, and one of the most complex. It is regarded to be the worst since the Exxon Valdez disaster that hit Alaska in 1989.

"Environmental disaster zone", "black tide", "time-bomb under the ocean" – these were just a few of the headlines that describe the scale of the environmental impact of the oil spill from the Prestige oil tanker which sank off the north-west coast of Spain in November 2002. The sinking of the Prestige was the latest in a series of oil tanker disasters in European waters in recent years.

I. Read the text.

Make sure you understand the words below:

crippled	damaged
primary	basic
seepage	leakage
to spring a leak	to develop a leak
intact	undamaged
to drag out	to tow out

Work in groups of two. The text below is divided into two parts, A and B. Each student has to read one part. Exchange the information.

Wednesday, November 20, 2002

A. A crippled tanker has sunk 130 miles off Spain's northwest coast. Spanish authorities rushed to protect the coastline in a region where fishing is the primary industry.

The Bahamian-flagged tanker Prestige broke in half on Tuesday, its stern sinking quickly with little seepage of fuel from its tanks. Its bow stayed afloat for several hours but sank later in the day.

The Prestige ran into trouble six days ago in heavy seas and gale-force winds off Cape Finisterre on the Galicia coast. Its original cargo was
22.6 million gallons, but it spilled an estimated 1.5 million gallons when it sprang a leak and another 1.5 million gallons as it broke up.

The stern section, which contained about 7 million gallons tons of oil, sank with its tanks intact, said an official with the Dutch firm that had been attempting to move the ship away from the Spanish coast.

Spain's northwest coast has suffered several tanker accidents in recent years. The area is sometimes called "the coast of death" because of the many shipwrecks there.

B. The 243-meter tanker began leaking in heavy seas last Wednesday en route to Gibraltar from the Latvian port of Riga.

A fuel slick 70 miles long and 5 miles wide was moving onto the Spanish coast. Spanish government teams were stringing barriers to protect the inlets near the port of La Coruna.

The tanker had already leaked oil into the rich fishing grounds off the coast, and regional authorities temporarily banned fishing in an area famous for its shellfish, octopus [37] and crabs.

The ship was dragged out to sea after both Spain and Portugal barred salvagers from towing the Prestige into any of their ports to protect their fishing and tourism industries.

On Monday two Spanish tugboats tried to pull the tanker as far away from the coast as possible.

The tanker's Greek captain was in custody after five hours of questioning Sunday by a judge in La Coruna. Maritime authorities said he failed to cooperate with rescue crews after issuing a distress call.

For hours, as the Prestige drifted dangerously close to shore, he refused to let tugboats secure cables to the ship.

Spain said it would insist on bringing forward the date to ban from European waters single-hulled tankers like the Prestige and insist on double-hulled vessels.

Vocabulary

to contain	содержать в себе; вмещать
to string	натягивать
to ban	налагать запрет; запрещать
to bar	препятствовать, мешать
custody	тюремное заключение
to secure	закреплять, прикреплять

II. Comprehension Check

Answer the questions using the information from both texts.

1. What happened with the tanker Prestige?

2. How much oil did it spill?

3. How large was the slick?

4. What area was affected by the disaster?

5. How serious was the environmental impact?

6. What protective measures were taken by emergency teams?

7. Why was the captain kept in custody?

8. What should be done to avoid similar accidents?

III. Vocabulary Practice

1. Match the words from column A and column B similar in their meaning.

A	B
1. ban	a) leakage
2. crippled	b) pull
3. seepage	c) hold
4. bar	d) prohibit
5. drag	e) damaged
6. contain	f) fasten
7. secure	g) prevent

2. Match the words in column A with those in column B to form a phrase. Use them in the sentences of your own.

A	B
1. to secure	a) barriers
2. to ban	b) cables
3. to string	c) oil
4. to contain	d) fishing
5. to spring	e) accidents
6. to suffer	f) a leak

IV. Speech Practice

1. Rephrase the following sentences using the words in bold:

1.	Spanish authorities rushed to protect the coastline.
	hurry	–Spanish authorities … without delay.
2.	Spain's northwest coast has suffered several tanker accidents in recent years.
	quite a few	– There … on Spain's northwest coast in recent years.
3.	Spanish government teams were stringing barriers to protect the inlets.
	establish	–The inletswere protected by…
4.	Both Spain and Portugal barred salvagers from towing the Prestige into any of their ports.
	prohibit	–Salvagers … the Prestige into any of the ports of Spain and Portugal.
5.	The captain failed to cooperate with rescue crews after issuing a distress call.
	succeed	–Thecaptain … with rescue crews after issuing a distress call.

2. Describe the accident. What important information is missing?

Text 5. Prestige disaster

I. Scan the text below to find the following information:

a) cause of evacuation of the crew from the Prestige;

b) failure to tow the ship using her own emergency system;

c) manoeuvres;

d) a unique nature of the spill.

Make sure you understand the words below:

in charge of	responsible for
in many respects	in many ways
entire	whole
on account of	owing to
steady	constant

 

On Wednesday, 13th of November 2002, the single-hulled oil tanker Prestige, flying the Bahamas flag, sent a distress call offshore the region of Cape Finisterre (Galicia, Spain). The tanker carrying 77,000 tonnes of heavy fuel oil loaded in St Petersburg (Russia) and Ventspils (Latvia) was heading to Singapore via Gibraltar. The vessel developed a reported 30 degrees starboard list whilst on passage in heavy seas and strong wind and so requested the partial evacuation of the crew. Twenty-four of the twenty-seven crew members were evacuated by helicopter while the captain, the first mate and the chief mechanic stayed aboard. As the engine was damaged, the ship became out of control. An aerial observation spotted a fuel leak at sea.

All night long, the tug boats from SASEMAR, the Spanish organization in charge of the sea rescue and pollution control, tried to take in tow the oil tanker. The emergency towing system of the ship didn't work and different attempts failed. In the end, the Prestige was taken in tow by a ship from Smit salvage on the 14th of November. It was towed to the north-northwest all day, and then to the south. On the 15th, it was torn over 35 metres on the right side. On the 16th, its towing was turned to the south-west to avoid the Portuguese waters. On the 19th at 9 am, the vessel broke in two at about 130 nautical miles off the Spanish coasts, west south-west of Cape Finisterre. At 12 o'clock, the stern part of the Prestige sank into 3,500 metres of water. The bow part followed at about 4 pm.

One of the characteristics of this spill was the weathering process of the oil that stood out to sea for a considerable period of time. This spill was unique in many respects, first with regard to [38] drift as it was really the very first time that a spill managed to contaminate 6 countries, and weathering, as well as the highly significant effect of the slick break-up process and how it affected the choice of response measures and techniques off shore and then surely on shore.

 

The oil was tracked throughout the entire time it was drifting in and around the Bay of Biscay and the westernmost reaches of the English Channel thanks to French and Spanish floating buoys and ship based and aerial data that were fed into various slick drift forecast models. The main slick split up into so many smaller ones on account of the wind and current regimes eventually landing on the beaches in France and even then only after a period of steady westerly winds.

Vocabulary

observation	наблюдение
weathering	разрушение под влиянием погодных условий
to stand out	удаляться (от берега)
unique	уникальный, единственный в своем роде
response	реакция, ответное действие
technique	методика, способ
to track	следить
reach	участок, район
to feed (fed)	вводить (данные)
forecast model	модель прогнозирования
to split up	разлагаться, распадаться

II. Vocabulary Practice

1. Match the words from column A and column B similar in their meaning.

A	B
1. out of control	a) responsible
2. spot	b) split up
3. contaminate	c) supply
4. in charge	d) disabled
5. break up	e) reaction
6. response	f) discover
7. feed	g) follow
8. track	h) pollute

2. Form collocations with the word measures and translate them into Russian:

clean-up, response, safety, preventive, protective, effective, emergency, immediate, environmental.

3. Fill in the blanks with the proper preposition.

a) … Wednesday, 13th of November 2002, the tanker Prestige sent a distress call offshore the region … Cape Finisterre.

b) The tanker was heading … Singapore … Gibraltar.

c) The ship became … … control.

d) The Spanish organization … charge … the sea rescue and pollution control tried to take … tow the oil tanker.

e) … the 19th … 9 am, the vessel broke … two … about 130 nautical miles … the Spanish coast.

f) Aerial data were fed … various slick drift forecast models.

g) The main slick split … … so many smaller ones … account … the wind and current regimes.

III. Speech Practice

1. Work in pairs. Ask questions to the first passage from the text to get the missing information. The answers can be found in the text.

On November …, the single-hulled oil tanker Prestige, flying the Bahamas flag, sent a distress call offshore the region of Cape Finisterre (Galicia, Spain). The tanker carrying … was heading to …. The vessel … in heavy seas and strong wind and so requested …. … crew members were evacuated by helicopter while … stayed aboard. As …, the ship became out of control. An aerial observation spotted … at sea.

2. Look at the map and describe the ship's manoeuvres as well as the chain of events.

Figure

3. Answer the questions.

1. Why is this spill considered to be unique?

2. What is weathering? Explain.

3. What made it possible to track the slick?

4. What is the forecast model? How can it be applied?

4. Speak about the accident. What measures can help to avoid similar accidents?

 

Text 6. Prestige oil disaster

I. Read the text.

Make sure you understand the words below:

to burst	to break
aid	help, assistance
response	answer
amount	quantity
prevalent	common
spot	area
to frequent	to visit
to endanger	to put in danger

 

On November 13th 2002, the Liberian owned tanker, the Prestige, ran into trouble in heavy weather off the coast of Galicia. The 240 metre single-hulled ship had burst one of its tanks and was starting to leak oil. The ship's Greek captain called the Spanish authorities for aid but instead of the expected tow-in he was told to steer away from the coast and head North West.

Similar responses were sent out from Spanish and Portuguese coastal authorities who wanted to see the foundering tanker kept away from their shores. This ship got into serious trouble on the sixth day of drifting when
a 40 ft section of the hull came away; she split in two that afternoon spilling
a huge amount of oil into the Atlantic 250 km from the coast of Galicia. The Prestige sank later that day in over 3,000 metres of water starting Spain's worst environmental disaster.

The decision to take the ship away from the coast was not a good one; by this time 5000 tons of fuel were already spilt and the strong westerly winds that are prevalent in the region at this time of year were already pushing a huge slick of oil towards the Galician coastline. Galicia is known as an extremely rich fishing ground, the area is also home to coral, sharks and thousands of sea birds.

The clean up operation was huge with a lot of volunteers. Thousands of tons of oil were removed from beaches and aid was provided for hundreds of birds covered in the Prestige 's noxious cargo. It was six months until the fishing fleets dropped their nets again and locals still claim that old fishing spots they frequented before the disaster are now completely barren.

In the wakeof the incident many have called for the ban of single-hulled tankers, the IMO (International Maritime Organisation) called for their phasing out to be brought forward and the European Commission did exactly that by moving the date forward from 2015 to 2005.

The effects of the disaster not only affected the Galician coast – oil was washed up in Portugal, on the beaches of Normandy and even England's south coast. Such is the quantity of oil contained in tankers that a spill can have catastrophic effects – with thousands of single hulled tankers still in operation there are fears that we're endangering our environment unnecessarily.

Vocabulary

to founder	пойти ко дну
to remove	убирать, уносить
noxious	вредный; ядовитый
barren	бесплодный
in the wakeof	в кильватере, по следам (событий)
to phase out	постепенно выводить из эксплуатации
to bring forward	перенести на более ранний срок
to wash up	прибивать к берегу, выносить на берег

II. Vocabulary Practice

1. Match the words in column A with those in column B to form a phrase. Use them in the sentences of your own.

A	B
1. fishing	a) winds
2. noxious	b) operation
3. clean up	c) disaster
4. environmental	d) effect
5. catastrophic	e) cargo
6. prevalent	f) ground

2. Find the words from the text which mean the following:

· to gradually stop using or providing something;

· someone who does a job willingly without being paid;

· unproductive, unprofitable.

Read and translate the sentences in which they are used.

III. Speech Practice

1. Explain the underlined parts in your own words.

1. It was six months until the fishing fleets dropped their nets again.

2. Locals still claim that old fishing spots are now completely barren.

3. In the wake of the incident many have called for the ban of single-hulled tankers.

2. Answer the questions to the text.

1. What new information have you acquired from the text?

2. What might be a critical decision to the problem of sea pollution by oil from tankers?

3.Summarise the information from the three stories and describe the disaster.

IV. Written Practice

Write a brief summary of the accident (12–15 sentences).

Text 7. Stricken cargo ship runs aground

I. Read the text.

Make sure you understand the word below:

firmly

securely

Sunday, 21 January, 2007

Coastguards and anti-pollution teams areon alert after a ship carrying potentially dangerous chemicals was beached off the Devon coast.

The MSC Napoli, holed in storms on Thursday, was run aground following "serious structural failure".

The ship is carrying almost 2,400 containers, about 150 of which are said to hold hazardous chemical substances.

Fifty containers were thrown into the sea on Saturday, but it is not thought they contained hazardous goods.

The ship's 26-man crew was rescued by helicopter on Thursday after it developed two long gashes on each side just above the water line in stormy weather.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency decided to beach it in Lyme Bay instead, following the structural failure.

It is now firmly aground but rolling in storms. Two French coastguard tugs are holding the ship in place.

Chris Lawson of the Environment Agency said containers holding the most hazardous substances, such as pesticides, were in the cargo hold of the boat, and there was "very little risk" of them leaking.

50 coastguards are out looking for the missing containers, which include one containing hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of BMW motorbikes.

The rescue team has been using the high tide to move the Napoli closer to shelter whilst weighing it down by pumping in sea water as ballast.

The ship has been surrounded by a 1 km oil-containment boom to protect the sea from any possible pollution.

The 275 m, 62,000-tonne Napoli is registered in London and owned by the Swiss Mediterranean Shipping Company.

It was last inspected by the MCAin May 2005 when officials said it met safety standards.

Vocabulary

to be on alert	быть в состоянии готовности
to beach	посадить на мель
hazardous	опасный
substance	вещество
gash	разрез
to weigh down	нагружать
the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA)	Управление мореплавания и береговой охраны Великобритании
to meet	отвечать, соответствовать (требованиям, стандартам)

II. Vocabulary Practice

Give synonyms to the following words:

hazardous, to beach, to be on alert, to contain, to meet (standards).

Use the above words in the sentences of your own.

III. Speech Practice

1. Rephrase the following sentences:

1.	It is not thought the containers had hazardous goods.
	There were hardly…
2.	The Maritime and Coastguard Agency decided to beach the ship in Lyme Bay following the structural failure.
	As the ship received…
3.	There was "very little risk" of the containers leaking.
	The containers could not…
4.	The rescue team has been weighing the ship down by pumping in sea water as ballast.
	To weigh the ship down the rescue team…

2. Explain in English what the following words and collocations mean:

anti-pollution team; potentially dangerous chemicals; serious structural failure; the ship developed gashes; hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of BMW motorbikes; to weigh the ship down.

3. Answer the questions.

1. Why was the holed ship run aground?

2. What potential danger did the ship create? Why?

3. When was the crew airlifted to safety?

4. What measures were taken to rescue the ship and to avoid any pollution?

4. Describe the accident.