Caribbean Sea pollution by oil spills

“Water, water, everywhere, nor any drop pristine, might be the lament of today's Ancient Mariner. Oceans cover more than 70 percent of the planet, and every single spot has been affected by people in some way” (Schmid, 2008, para.1). The water in our planet forms 70.8% of all creatures and contains more than 60% of creatures which live in the sea. Some people on earth depend on the sea as their main source of nutrition. For that reason sea pollution is very dangerous for people’s health and life, and for the environment. So, sea pollution is significant to discuss and study. There are many human activities which are considered the cause of sea pollution. There are many factors of sea pollution; they are garbage, sewage, and oil spills, which is one of the most effected. Pollution causes many damages to the sea world. The most affected species are the coral reefs which are the homes of hundreds of other species. For example, many types of fish feed and breeds in coral reefs (Pitman, 2006). As a result, we find a lot of scientists are trying to find solutions to avoid pollution . Sea pollution is defined as “any rubbish that ends up the water that affects anything that lives there” (What is sea pollution? 2004, para.1). And oil spill is defined as “oil of any type is released into the natural environment” (Smith, 2003, para.1).

Sea pollution and oil spills are as old as ships. The first major oil spill was during Second World War where 590,000 tons of oil were spilt off the coast of the United States(Where did the first major oil spill occur? 2008). In 1967 the tanker Torrey Canyon spilt 119,000 tons of oil off the coast of Cornwall, England. On January 25, 1991, during the Gulf War almost 1.5 million tons of oil was intentionally poured from land into the Arabian Gulf.

There are many of solutions to solve the pollution due to oil spills in the Caribbean Sea. Ships should find others routes to transfer oil and avoid the Caribbean Sea, governments should try to clean polluted waters in the Caribbean Sea, and ship builders should build ships with better qualification to transfer oil, and ship workers should follow strong rules.

The Caribbean has a significant importance to commercial ship lines. In addition, most countries that surround it are oil producers like Venezuela. It is also a famous ship route to transport oil from the Atlantic to the Pacific though the strategic Panama Canal, which was opened in 1914 (Panama Canal, n.d). Sea pollution is a result of this heavy ship traffic. By rerouting ships from using this way to another way to transfer oil for period of time, creatures can come back to the Caribbean. By applying this solution, oil spills and pollution can be prevented and clean up solutions can be initiated.

In case of an oil spill, governments should try to clean polluted waters in the Caribbean Sea. And also, everybody takes part in a cleanup operation. Treatment of an oil spill is different from one to another depending on location, weather or type of oil, but general speaking there are four main methods of response. Firstly, if the oil spill is at a location where it cannot pollute costal regions, cleanup companies leave the oil to break down by natural means. Sun, wind, current and wave action will help reduce the oil spill. Secondly, oil floats on water and forms a thick layer on the surface. This layer can be isolated using inflatable tubes (booms). Later, the spill should be contained with booms and oil should be collected from the surface by skimmer tools. Thirdly, they use chemical to break down the oil. These chemicals speed its natural biodegradation. These chemicals are best used within the first hours of beginning of the spill. Finally, they speed up the natural biodegradation process by adding biological substances (How do you clean up an oil spill 2004).
Finally, ships builders should building ships with better qualification to transfer oil. Also, ships owner should follow certin conditions. The ships should be built with double hulls into vessels, which reduces the risk and severity of a spill in case of a collision or grounding. Existing single-hull vessels can also be rebuilt to have a double hull. Also, ships workers should not overfilling fuel tank and they have to keep engines in a good condition. Another procedure is to put oil sponge pads in the bilge, check the fuel tank and check leaks regularly. Moreover, shut down automatic bilge pumps during repairs. And using good quality oil extends the service life and use lower oil. And also, put spill response equipment and dispose of contaminate in good location without hurt environment. Those will be more helpful to reduce oil spills on the sea (How do you clean up an oil spill, 2004).

In conclusion, sea pollution is dangerous to the sea creature’s lives and then it is dangerous to our health and life. One of the most significant factors to cause sea pollution is oil spills. We have to make global rules to keep the environment and natural places, and give support for help to clean the environment. There are some solutions to clean sea waters in the Caribbean Sea from oil. Such as,we should change the ships routes and avoid the Caribbean Sea, governments should try purification of the sea water, and also they should make specifications for ships which transfer oil. In addition, we have to spread enlightenment about dangers of sea pollution through media and schools. Also, we have to find other solutions to keep our environment from damage.