Oil Spill Modeling of the M/T Sti Pimlico and M/V Celestyal Crystal Accident on Çanakkale Strait

Abstract

Turkish Sea Area is the most important waterway because of its geographical position. According to 2022 statistics of strait passage, 9904 tanker vessels passed through the Strait of Çanakkale. This statistical value shows that the Strait of Çanakkale is at risk due to the tanker vessels’ passage. On June 27, 2015, the Celestyal Crystal cruise ship and the STI Pimlico tanker ship collided in the Çanakkale Traffic Separation Scheme, approximately 0.7 nautical miles from the Gelibolu Lighthouse. STI Pimlico suffered an explosion in one of the port wing cargo tanks and listed 15° to port. There were no injuries in the incident, but it was reported that naphtha leaked from the ship into the sea. Directorate General of Coastal Safety teams responded to oil spillage immediately, the leak was taken under control before it spread too much. In this study, the pollution and spread that will occur in case the response of coastal safety teams is delayed has been estimated. The oil spill was determined according to time and place, taking into account the northerly wind direction and strength. Leak simulation was performed with the GNOMETM simulation program. Characteristic of cargo on STI Pimlico was taken from the ADIOS2 program. Results of the simulation showed that the spill reached the coast. 7 kilometers of the coast was polluted by an oil spill.