Container ships

Moving goods by sea is considered the most efficient form of commercial transport, and the carbon footprint of maritime shipping is substantially lower, per ton of cargo, compared with rail, truck, and air transport. But these ships still require large amounts of fuel and, despite safety improvements, there is always the risk of significant oil spills.

Every month our Emergency Response Division provides scientific expertise and services to the U.S. Coast Guard on everything from running oil spill trajectories to model where the spill may spread, to possible effects on wildlife and fisheries and estimates on how long the oil may stay in the environment. This month OR&R responded to 15 incidents in June, including oil discharges, grounded vessels, and other pollution-related incidents.

On May 20, 2021, The X-Press Pearl caught fire and after 12 days sank off the coast of Sri Lanka.  All of the containers were lost or damaged.  The sinking has raised lots of concerns over the ship’s fuel and the hazardous materials on board, as well as low-density polyethylene (LDPE) pellets.  These pellets, also known as pre-production plastic pellets, are the raw material for manufacturing plastic bottles and other containers.  Some of the pre-production plastic pellets containers ruptured and coated nearby beaches with tiny pellets.