Photos reveal extent of damage to Whiffen Head oil terminal, tanker following collision
With terminal out of commission, and repair planning ongoing, oil companies resort to ship-to-ship transfers
Photos obtained by CBC News reveal the extent of the damage to an important oil terminal near Arnold's Cove — and the potential for life-threatening injury or environmental disaster — after a nearly 300-metre tanker laden with crude collided with the dock last month.
The incident has forced oil companies to conduct ship-to-ship transfers in Placentia Bay in order to get Newfoundland and Labrador crude to the market, and it's not clear how long this contingency plan will be in place.
The collision also punctured a hole in the bow section of the Altera Thule, one of a small fleet of shuttle tankers that transports crude from producing oil fields in the offshore to the transshipment terminal at Whiffen Head.
The Thule was pulling alongside the jetty at mid-afternoon on Jan. 22 to offload a cargo of crude from the offshore when the collision occurred.
The impact crumpled a section of the dock's concrete decking, and the mechanical loading arm that connects tankers to the cargo terminal was also knocked askew and badly damaged.
It's not known if the operator's cab on the loading arm was occupied during the collision, but the company that operates the terminal, Newfoundland Transshipment Limited, said there were no injuries.
The Thule is double-hulled and no pollutants were spilled into the ocean, but a photo obtained by CBC reveals a deep gash in the bow of the vessel.
A spokesperson for the company that operates the ship, Altera, said an investigation is ongoing and "these investigations do take considerable time."
It's compulsory that ships entering Placentia Bay have a licensed maritime pilot on board who has specific knowledge of the bay.
Transport Canada is investigating to determine whether the vessel meets the applicable regulations under the Canada Shipping Act, the agency wrote in a statement on Wednesday.
"Should Transport Canada identify incidents of non-compliance, appropriate action will be taken," the Transport Canada statement reads.
Energy Minister Andrew Parsons said in a statement that his department is monitoring the situation.
"Assessments are continuing and stakeholders are collectively working various contingency options," he said.
Preparing a repair plan
Operations at the terminal have been suspended as engineers develop a repair plan, and Newfoundland Transshipment is not saying how long the terminal will be out of commission, the estimated cost of repairs, or how much crude is currently stranded in storage at the Whiffen Head tank farm.
"We are continuing with our assessment and repair planning. This work takes time and our focus is to ensure the safety of the site and personnel, as we undertake these activities," Newfoundland Transshipment Limited's Paul Durdle wrote in a statement to CBC News on Thursday.
The terminal is a critical asset in the province's oil industry. Ships like the Thule, known as Suezmax vessels, collect crude from the Hibernia, Hebron, Terra Nova and White Rose fields and deliver it to the transshipment terminal, where it's held in six tanks capable of holding up to three million barrels of crude.
Second leg tankers known as Aframax vessels then transport the crude to customers in the United States and other international locations for refining into various fuels.
The intent of the terminal, which opened in the late 1990s, is to provide oil companies with more efficient transportation to the market, and to provide greater flexibility in the marketing of that oil.
With operations suspended at the terminal, and roughly 250,000 barrels being produced each day in the offshore, oil companies have been forced to use ship-to-ship transfers in order to get their valuable products to market and ensure production is not interrupted.
A spokesperson for the oil companies said two ship-to-ship transfers have so far taken place, and more are planned.
"Safety is a primary consideration during all activities, and we are working with Teekay Marine Services to manage the ship-to-ship transfers, including any weather limits that need to be considered," said a spokesperson for Basin Wide Transportation and Transshipment System (BWTTS), which co-ordinates crude transportation on behalf of the companies with ownership stakes in the offshore.
WATCH | No word on how much it will cost to repair the damage at Whiffen Head:
The Altera spokesperson said ship-to-ship transfers are safe, with roughly 11,000 such transfers taking place each year around the world.
As for the Altera Thule, it's scheduled to offload its crude later this month, and will then undergo repairs.
Hibernia and Hebron are fixed platforms built atop massive concrete structures that sit on the ocean floor. They can each store more than one million barrels of crude store. The Terra Nova and White Rose fields use ship-like production vessels that can store less than one million barrels.
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