The scale of illegal oil dumping in European waters is likely to be much higher than the public knows, according to a new investigation.
There are potentially toxic substances in bilge water from the engine room of a ship, along with other potentially toxic substances such as cleaning solvent and lead, which are collected at the bottom of the vessel.
It is expensive to deal with oily wastewater by treating it to remove pollutants or by transferring it to a port. It can pose a serious threat to marine life if it is dumped directly into the ocean.
A six-month investigation by Lighthouse Reports, a European non-profit newsroom with nine publications across Europe, used satellite technology, testimonies and freedom of information requests to document hundreds of incidents of potentially illegal oil spills from ships. It found that despite the use of satellite technology, countries were slow to act and prosecution levels were low, leading to a culture of impunity.
The European Maritime Safety Agency launched its CleanSeaNet initiative in 2007, which analyses satellite images to detect potential oil discharges from ships.
When the system identifies a potential spill, it sends an alert to the relevant EU country, which can observe the slick by sending out a boat or plane or by asking a nearby vessel to inspect it. The national authority's findings can be fed back to the EMSA.
Be quiet – do not speak out. If you speak, then it is very much trouble for you
The feedback levels are low according to the annual CleanSeaNet data. The agency recorded 7,672 oil spill detections in 2020. Only a third of these received feedback, and of those, 208 were confirmed to be oil slicks.
According to a report from the European Environment Agency, the longer the interval between an alert and an on-site check, the higher the chance of countries reporting. Only a small percentage of potential oil spills were verified within three hours.
The experts argue that slow response times and limited public data reduce accountability. The likely source of pollution is not disclosed in the agency's report for 2020.
This was done to avoid revealing sensitive information about monitoring and investigations which could support pollution.
Even if a country identifies illegal dumping in their waters, they don't have to reveal what action is taken.
SkyTruth has been using satellite data to track illegal dumping since 2011.
SkyTruth calculated how many spills may be avoiding detection because of gaps in coverage by satellites and the rate at which slicks evaporate.
SkyTruth estimates there may be over 3000 oil slicks every year due to vessels transiting EU waters.
According to testimony collected by Lighthouse Reports and reporting partners, ships have developed tactics to avoid detection, including using portable pumps to discharge untreated bilge water into the ocean and dumping at night or in rough seas when it is harder to see the oil.
There is still a certain incentive, for cost reasons, to illegally dump oil at sea
A person who worked in the engine room described how easy it was to dump the bilge using a portable pump. The dumping would happen after dark.
Raising the alarm can be difficult according to a ship's engineer who observed illegal dumping. He said he was told not to speak out. He said his contract was terminated when he confronted the chief engineer.
The men asked to remain anonymous because of the consequences of speaking out.
Smaller and less visible than large industrial spills, bilge dumps don't get the same amount of attention but they are having a big effect on marine life. A study on short-lived oil spills found a decline in plankton in the sea.
Kerstin Magnusson, an ecotoxicologist at the Swedish Environmental Research Institute and author of a report that linked bilge dumping to negative impacts on the feeding and reproduction of marine creatures, said that maritime oil pollution has direct toxic effects on the smallest marine creatures. She said that this has an impact all the way up the food web.
Princess Cruises was fined $40m in 2016 after pleading guilty to illegal dumping along the British coast. Prison sentences can be given to people found responsible.
Even when fines are imposed, they may not be enough to deter the behavior.
There is a certain incentive to illegally dump oil at sea.
The number of detections as well as the number of prosecutions for illegal discharges of oil and other pollutants in European waters are not uncommon.
She said the agency's CleanSeaNet programme has proven to be an important resource for monitoring maritime areas, providing rapid detection alert that allow for prompt follow-up actions.
The agency can only give out feedback and verification data when approved by the coastal states, according to a spokesman for the agency.
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