A Modeling Study on the Oil Spill of M/V Marathassa in Vancouver Harbour

Abstract

The M/V Marathassa oil spill occurred on 8 April 2015 in the English Bay. In the present study, the trajectory and the transport mechanism of the spilled oil have been studied by using the three-dimensional and particle-based Oil Spill Contingency and Response (OSCAR) model forced by the Finite-Volume Community Ocean Model (FVCOM). FVCOM provided the hydrodynamic variables used by the oil spill model of OSCAR. The results showed that the fraction of the oil on the water surface and on the shoreline, as well as the amount of oil recovered were affected by the time of the initial release, the overall duration of the discharge, wind and recovery actions. The hindcast study of the M/V Marathassa oil spill showed that the likely starting time for the discharge was between 14:00 and 15:00, on 8 April 2015. The release may have lasted for a relatively long time (assumed to be 22 h in this study). The results of modeling in this study were found reasonably acceptable allowing for further application in risk assessment studies in the English Bay and Vancouver Harbour. The trajectory of the spill was mainly controlled by the tidal currents, which were strongly sensitive to the local coastline and topography of First Narrows and that in the central harbour. The model results also suggested that a high-resolution model, which was able to resolve abrupt changes in the coastlines and topography, was necessary to simulate the oil spill in the harbour.