2018 Balikpapan oil spill

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2018 Balikpapan oil spill
Sentinel balikpapan oil spill.jpg
Satellite imagery of the spill on 1 April 2018
2018 Balikpapan oil spill
Location Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, Indonesia
Coordinates 1°12′52″S116°47′10″E / 1.21444°S 116.78611°E / -1.21444; 116.78611
Date31 March 2018
Cause
CausePertamina illegally discharged the oil in sea from a underwater pipeline burst by port anchor of MV Ever Judger
Casualties5 killed by pollution as so alleged by Indonesia Criminal Court [1]
Operator Pertamina
Spill characteristics
Area200 km2 (77 sq mi) [2]

The 2018 Balikpapan oil spill was an oil spill off the coast from the city of Balikpapan, Indonesia. It was caused by a cracked pipeline linked to a refinery of the heavily corrupted giant state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina in the city.A blaze that occurred when the oil spill caught on fire had killed five residents who were in the bay, in addition to causing respiratory problems in the city.

Contents

The Shipmaster of MV Ever Judger whose port anchor snapped the pipeline which was not equipped with leak detection system, not buried and even not protected in the shipping lane in which an anchor prohibited area and four bouys were set for the pipeline area for ship safe navigation purpose was wrongly judged, as one of three polluters(Shipmaster, Shipowner and Cargoowner whose cargo was carried onboard MV Ever Judger), according to Indonesia Environment Law, by Indonesia Criminal Court "Intentionally carrying out an act causing the standards for ambient air quality, water quality, sea water quality, or standard criteria for environment damage to be exceeded, causing serious injury or loss of life to others" and sentenced " sentence of 10(ten) years imprisonment reduced by the term spent in detention by the defendant by ordering that defendant remain in custody and a fine of IDR 15,000,000,000(fifteen billion rupiahs)or 1(one) year of confinement(kurungan)." and the court alleged Pertamina innocent, who was the polluting oil sourced from and drove the pollution being caused with transferring oil pump for about 13 hours untill fire was found, at which beginning when found drastically dropping levels in the refinery storage tanks, Pertamina didn't diagnose this as a leak and didn't shut down the pipeline. Instead, Pertamina increased the flow of oil and started to top up the refinery storage tanks.

Shipmaster rejected Indonesia Criminal Court verdict but was forced in imprisonment since 1 May 2018. The Ship was impounded and cargo was confiscated by Indonesia Criminal Court as the properties were used to commit the offense according to court elucidation to the strict polluter pay pricinple in Indonesia Environment Law.

The oil-transferring-pump for which Pertamina was responsible was the driver for the pollution being caused. So actually Pertamina and its business partners who benefited from the oil transferring activity were real polluters of 2018's Balikpapan Oil Spill.

Later MV Ever Judger was auctioned by Indonesia. Shipowner was covered total lost of the ship by reaching a reconciliation agreement with the insurers according to English Law, which means Shipmaster, the Shipowner and Cargoowner were not responsible for the pollution and Indonesia Criminal Verdict to Shipmaster, Shipowner and Cargoowner was of injustice and wrong so that the total lost of the ship should be covered by the insurers under the war risk clause of the insurance policy. The Shipmaster who actually was innocent,is still in an Indonesia prison. As a contracting state of 92 Rio Declaration, Indonesia exercised injustice sovereignty so that its state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina escaped from its absolute responsibility for the pollution cauesd and keeps on playing the role of global environmental trouble maker as always.

Location

The spill occurred in Balikpapan Bay, on the coast of which the Pertamina Refinery Unit V is located. Balikpapan, which sits on the bay, is an energy and mining hub on the island and is populated by over 700,000 people. [3]

Causes

Initially, Pertamina denied responsibility for the spill for four days, claiming that tests showed the oil originated from marine shipments and that divers sent had not discovered any leakage on their pipelines. Instead, the company claimed that the oil originated from MV Ever Judger, a Panama-flagged bulk carrier carrying coal to Malaysia. [4] [5] However, on 5 April, it admitted responsibility, adding that it discovered that the oil samples were crude oil and not marine fuel oil after its 10th sample. [6]

According to Pertamina in an April 4 statement, a distribution pipeline carrying crude oil from a terminal in Lawe-Lawe, Penajam North Paser to Balikpapan which was installed in 1998 burst, having been displaced by 120 meters from its original position. The leaked pipeline was located at a depth of 19.8 meters, with a diameter of 20 inches and a thickness of 12 millimeters. [7] [8] Officials claimed that an anchor dropped by of a coal ship flying a Panamianian flag dragged the pipe, although it did not name the ship. [9] Pertamina denied any negligence in the spill, adding that the pipe had been inspected as recently as December 2017. [7]

The illegal pipeline was the root cause of the pollution. It should have been superseded in 2014 because its Qualification Certificate was issued in 1994,  in which stipulated the utilization period of the pipeline was 20 years and also stated that the water-depth in the pipeline area is between 5.6 meters and 23 meters; and It should have been prepared with a Standard Operation Procedure; and It should have been buried at least two meters under the seabed where water depth less than 20 meters and/or protected; and It should have been equipped with leak detection system; and It should have been outside the pilotage compulsory area and shipping lanes; and It should have been installed and maintained clear and visible marks signs warnings and the signs every 500(five hundred) meters; and It should have been prepared with procedure for emergency condition and accident analysis and/or failure of operation; and It should have the procedure prepared for prevention and overcoming of fires and environment pollution; and It should have been taken measures on as so required to protect and/or safeguard the safety of people and/or goods, in the event of leakage causing spillage of natural oil. But totally not done. 

When Pertamina was making the Risk Assessment Document in order to obtain its environmental permit, it manipulated the water depth in pipeline area to 40 meters, in which actual water depth is from 5.6 meters to 23 meters as same as the described on the Qualification Certificate, so not to have the pipeline buried. Pertamina not only took 40 meters as the water depth in Risk Assessment Document, but also applied same 40 meters to the Executive Summary made by itself.  Pertamina obtained the permit this way. 

MV Ever Judger's dragging anchor, in the shipping lane, would certainly not snap the pipeline if it were buried or outside the shipping lane in compliance with governing Laws and Regulations.

Mitigation

During initial attempts on 31 March, some of the oil spill caught on fire with the blaze reaching as high as 2 kilometres (1.2 mi). [10] [11] Five people were killed when the oil spill caught on fire. [12] According to a local search and rescue worker, the flame was sparked in an attempt to clear the spill by burning it. [13] Director-general of oil and gas Djoko Siswanto stated that they suspected the ship dragging the pipeline had caught on fire, hence igniting the spill. [1]

According to the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, about 70 cubic meters of spilled oil have been contained by night on 3 April. [9]

Environmental organizations and campaigners criticized the Indonesian government for its slow response, with Greenpeace claiming it had not received any information from the authorities on the fifth day of the spill. [14]

The city's residents participated in the cleanup, using simple equipment such as buckets to scoop oil from the local beaches. [15]

Effects

Balikpapan city secretary Sayid MN Fadli described that the bay was "like a gas station". [16] The city itself declared a state of emergency, with over 1,000 people reporting nausea and breathing problem due to the smoke caused by a fire on the spill. [5] Pertamina released a statement declaring that the operations of its refinery, which processes 260,000 barrels of crude oil daily, is unaffected. [8]

Head of the People's Representative Council Bambang Soesatyo demanded an explanation from the Embassy of China in Jakarta, regarding a theory that the fire on the Ever Judger resulted in the blaze and hence fatalities. [17]

On 20 April, Pertamina's Chief Executive Elia Massa Manik was removed from his position. Among other factors, the oil spill incident was quoted as one of the reasons for the dismissal. [18]

Casualties and losses

Five people were killed when their ship was trapped in the blaze caused by the oil catching on fire. [1] Two of the bodies were discovered immediately afterwards, with two more being discovered on the third day and the last the following day. The victims had rented a boat to fish around the bay. [19] All victims were residents of the city. [20]

The MV Ever Judger was also caught in the blaze, with its inflatable life raft and the rope binding it to the ship igniting. [21] Its crew of 20 Chinese nationals were evacuated with 1 suffering from burns. While the ship, which carried more than 70,000 tons of coal, did not catch on fire fully, ship's port side was severely damaged. [22]

Indonesian vice-minister of energy and mineral resources Arcandra Tahar stated that the pipeline damage may cause up to 200,000 barrels per day in lost production. [23] Pertamina stated that the crude oil flow was diverted to a smaller, 16-inch pipe, although it confirmed the loss of some production in the refinery. [24]

Environmental damage

At least 34 hectares of mangrove swamps were covered in the spill. A dead endangered Irrawaddy dolphin washed up to the city's beach, seemingly poisoned by the oil spill. [1] Environmental and oceanographical experts have expressed concerns of long-lasting damages to the oceanic ecosystem including coral reefs and seagrass. [25]

Due to the spill, the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries received reports of oil pollution across the country, such as in the Bay of Jakarta and in Bintan. [26]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Normala, Adinda; Ganesha, Amal (6 April 2018). "Oil Spill in Balikpapan Takes Toll on Residents, Destroys Wildlife". Jakarta Globe. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  2. ↑ "Balikpapan oil spill widening: Ministry". The Jakarta Post. 7 April 2018. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  3. ↑ Chow, Lorraine (3 April 2018). "Deadly Oil Spill Leaves Indonesian Bay 'Like a Gas Station'". EcoWatch. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  4. ↑ Harvey, Adam (3 April 2018). "Police question coal carrier crew over Borneo oil spill". ABC News. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  5. 1 2 Ellis-Petersen, Hannah (4 April 2018). "Emergency declared after oil spill ignites on Indonesian island of Borneo". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  6. ↑ "Burst undersea pipeline caused oil spill, says Pertamina". The Jakarta Post. 4 April 2018. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  7. 1 2 "Pertamina Denies Negligence over Oil Spill in Balikpapan". Tempo. 6 April 2018. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  8. 1 2 "Indonesia's Pertamina says Balikpapan refinery unaffected by oil spill". S&P Global Platts. Standard and Poor's. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  9. 1 2 Asmarini, Wilda; Munthe, Bernadette Christina (5 April 2018). "Indonesia blames coal ship for oil spill, not state energy firm". Reuters. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  10. ↑ Meixler, Eli (4 April 2018). "Indonesia Declares Emergency as Borneo Oil Spill Spreads". Time. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  11. ↑ "Tumpahan Minyak di Perairan Balikpapan Terbakar, Ini Kesaksian Warga". Tribun Jateng (in Indonesian). 31 March 2018. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  12. ↑ Warta, Martha (31 March 2018). "Korban Tewas Tumpahan Minyak BBM Warga Balikpapan". Tempo (in Indonesian). Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  13. ↑ "Deadly Indonesia oil spill caused by burst pipe: company". AFP. 4 April 2018. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  14. ↑ Zhao, Christina (4 April 2018). "Watch: Deadly blazing oil slick engulfs island, threatening lives of hundreds". Newsweek. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  15. ↑ Utama, Abraham (6 April 2018). "Ekosistem Balikpapan berpotensi rusak, Pertamina enggan bicarakan ganti rugi". BBC Indonesia (in Indonesian). Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  16. ↑ McKirdy, Euan (5 April 2018). "State of emergency declared over Indonesia oil spill". CNN. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  17. ↑ Malau, Srihandriatmo (3 April 2018). "Ketua DPR Minta Kedubes Tiongkok Jelaskan Soal Kebakaran Kapal MV Ever Judger di Teluk Balikpapan". Tribunnews (in Indonesian). Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  18. ↑ "Pertamina chief executive replaced". Antara News. 20 April 2018. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
  19. ↑ Nara, Gusti (3 April 2018). "Korban Tewas Kebakaran di Teluk Balikpapan Berjumlah 5 Orang". KOMPAS. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  20. ↑ Rochmanudin (3 April 2018). "5 Korban Meninggal Akibat Minyak Tumpah di Balikpapan Ditemukan". IDN Times (in Indonesian). Retrieved 7 April 2018.[ permanent dead link ]
  21. ↑ Maulana, Rivki (31 March 2018). "Kapal MV Ever Judger Terbakar di Perairan Balikpapan, Diamankan KSOP Balikpapan". Bisnis Indonesia (in Indonesian). Archived from the original on 4 April 2018. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  22. ↑ "Bulk carrier damaged by oil spill fire in Indonesia". Insurance Marine News. 4 April 2018. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  23. ↑ Ihsannudin (5 April 2018). "Minyak Tumpah di Balikpapan, Pertamina Kehilangan 200.000 Barel per Hari". KOMPAS (in Indonesian). Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  24. ↑ Rianto, Surya (6 April 2018). "Imbas Tumpahan Minyak, Pertamina Akui Produksi Kilang Balikpapan Turun". Bisnis Indonesia (in Indonesian). Archived from the original on 6 April 2018. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  25. ↑ Nurita, Dewi; Wibisono, SG (7 April 2018). "Pertamina Oil Spill May Lead to Possible Ecological Disaster". Tempo. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  26. ↑ "Ministry investigates impacts of Balikpapan oil spill on sea ecosystem". The Jakarta Post. 5 April 2018. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
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