2.6 Management of Oil Pollution

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What is Oil Pollution?

Oil pollution happens when oil enters the ocean or coastal areas (like beaches, estuaries, and mangroves) where it does not belong. This usually happens when oil is accidentally released from ships, oil tankers, or offshore drilling platforms.

Oil is extremely harmful to marine life. It floats on the surface of the water and forms a thick, dark layer called an oil slick. This blocks sunlight from reaching underwater plants, coats the feathers and fur of seabirds and marine mammals (so they can no longer keep warm or fly), and poisons fish, shellfish, and other sea creatures.

Because of how serious this damage can be, there are two types of strategies humans use:

• Strategies to reduce (prevent) oil spills from happening in the first place
• Strategies to minimise the damage once a spill has already occurred

MARPOL — The International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships

MARPOL stands for Marine Pollution. It is an international agreement — meaning countries all around the world agreed to follow its rules — that was created to prevent ships from polluting the oceans.

Think of MARPOL as a set of laws that apply to ships everywhere in the world, no matter which country's waters they are sailing through.

What does MARPOL do?

• It sets strict rules about how ships must handle oil, sewage, garbage, and other harmful substances on board
• It bans ships from deliberately dumping oil or oily water into the sea
• It requires ships to have special equipment on board to collect and store oily waste safely until it can be disposed of properly on land
• It defines special areas — sensitive ocean regions (such as the Mediterranean Sea and the Arctic) where even stricter rules apply, because these areas are particularly vulnerable to pollution
• It requires countries to provide port facilities where ships can safely dispose of their waste, so there is no excuse to dump it at sea

Why is MARPOL important?

Before international agreements like MARPOL, ships routinely dumped oily water and waste directly into the ocean. MARPOL created a legal framework that holds ship operators accountable. If a ship breaks MARPOL rules, the shipping company can be heavily fined and the ship can be detained in port.