Oil spills from global tankers: Status review and future governance

摘要

Oil is a main driving force when it comes to the economic development of a country. But nations around the world have uneven oil distribution, which pushes them toward rapid development of petroleum trade and maritime transportation. With the rising maritime transportation volume of oil, countries around the globe are paying increasing attention to the safe transportation of oil, oil spills from tankers are thus decreasing. However, the oil spill problem still deserves attention and laws and procedures should be strengthened to prevent future accidents and spills. This paper reviews the history of world oil trade and oil spill pollution and puts forward oil spill prevention strategies. The paper looks at the data related to oil spills created by tankers in the past 50 years from 1970 to 2017 and studies the trends in oil trade and oil spill pollution, in a bid to analyze the pollution status of major oil spill accidents and the development of treatment regulations. The paper also explores key factors behind oil spills from tankers and summarizes strategies and directions for the global marine shipping industry to prevent oil tanker pollution in the future based on the aforementioned research. This study offers systematic and scientific information reference for green operation and management of the oil tanker industry and helps government departments and policymakers to adopt reasonable and effective strategies to prevent and handle oil spill accidents from tankers across the world. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.