Financial and Environmental Problem
Large petrochemical tankers deliver a huge amount of fuel and liquid products worldwide on a daily basis. Some of these tankers often leak fuel and other material. Such leaks are an environmental problem and this translates into losses for the carriers. Should a major disaster occur to a vessel resulting in significant release of petrochemicals into the environment, the political, financial and environmental impact is enormous. Knowing the rate of leak from a damaged tanker allows Coast Guards and other agencies to marshal the right resources on a timely basis to address such a disaster and limit the environmental impact. In addition, delays in off-loading a vessel by a few hours costs the carrier and/or the customer a substantial amount of money. This is caused by the need to verify the quality and quantity of the product prior to off-loading operation commencing.
Leakage issues from these vessels has become an environmental concern and thus a political one. The United States Congress has recently directed the US coast guard to report on potential solutions to this problem. Read more...