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Karen Osborn with oiled male Eider, superimposed over picture of the grounded Braer From the cover of the SOTEAG report "Dealing with the Wildlife Casualties of the Braer Oil Spill, Shetland", January 1993 |
"Deadly Cargo, worst fears realised as tanker spills....." headline of the Shetland Times Newspaper, Friday 8th January 1993 |
These pages are a summary of the events leading to the grounding of the M.V. Braer in January 1993, the effects on wildlife and the environment, survey results from the years following the spill, a video summary of the spill & links to other sources of information. It is based on an article which appeared in the 1993 Shetland Bird Report. I accept no responsibility for the accuracy of the text presented, which is based upon already published information as to the sequence of events and the effects on wildlife & the environment, although as far as I am aware all references are factual. |
What caused the spill? Contamination of the vessels fuel oil supply by seawater, stopping the vessels engines. The seawater entered fuel storage tanks via damaged air vent pipes on the deck. The damage to the air vent pipes was caused by steel pipe sections that had broken loose on the deck in the severe weather conditions. UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch http://www.maib.gov.uk/cm s_resources/braer-text.pdf |
How bad was the spill? Fortunately, the pollution problems were not as disastrous as first feared. There was no significant mortality of sea mammals due to Braer oil. Plants in some fields near the coast were contaminated, some islanders reported throat and skin irritations. About 1,600 sea birds were found dead during the oil spill. The Institute of Petroleum http://www.energyinst.org. uk/education/natural/7.htm |
braer.net |
M.V. Braer grounding and oil spill Garth's Ness, Shetland, 5 Jan 1993 |
