Potentially Polluting Wrecks: An Introduction

Abstract

AbstractShipwrecks lie hidden below the surface of the water and, especially those in deep water, are out of sight and easily ignored. Many of these wrecks from the modern era either contain or are suspected to contain hazardous materials that are within the metal hulls which have the potential to cause an environmental disaster should they leak or spill. A potentially polluting wreck (PPW) is a shipwreck containing a cargo or a large volume of its own fuel that remains within the wreck and has the potential to cause an environmental hazard should the structure become compromised and either leak or catastrophically release. This book addresses those wrecks with the potential to pollute due to petroleum cargoes or bunkers. While unexploded ordnance and munitions also represent both a hazard and toxic substance, addressing this type of cargo and threat is different than for petroleum cargos and would need its own volume on the subject. According to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), ‘marine pollution from sunken vessels is predicted to reach its highest level this decade, with over 8,500 shipwrecks at risk of leaking approximately 6 billion gallons of oil’ (IUCN, 2023). They contain hazardous materials including chemicals, unexploded ordinances, and an estimated six billion gallons of heavy fuel oil. ‘This is 545 times more oil than the Exxon Valdez leak in 1989 and 30 times that of the Deepwater Horizon spill in 2010, both of which had severe and long-lasting environmental consequences’ (IUCN, 2023). Many of the wrecks identified as PPWs are those sunk during the two world wars, particularly oil tankers, but also include freighters, as well as ships from parts of the twentieth century that foundered in storms.