Bow Jubail

Pollution context

On 23 June 2018, at 1:40 PM local time, during a mooring maneuver, the tanker Bow Jubail collided with a quay in the port of Rotterdam (Netherlands), causing a breach in the ship's starboard hull. Although travelling in ballast, one of the fuel tanks hit by the collision impact resulted in the spill of approximately 217 tonnes of heavy fuel oil into the port waters. Immediate measures were taken by the crew and shore-based resources to limit the scale of the spill. Odfjell immediately mobilized its emergency response team at its headquarters in Bergen to control the situation. The P&I club GARD, which insures the vessel, also mobilized resources.

The leak was stopped with no risk of further spills.

The spilled oil contaminated port structures, including quays, jetties, rock revetments, and more than 100 vessels at the terminal were affected, mainly along their waterline.

A small amount of heavy fuel oil and oiled debris escaped the port limits and caused limited contamination along the banks of the Nieuwe Maas.

On 26 June, the Bow Jubail was towed from its original berth to a shipyard for repair in the Botlek area. The vessel finally left Rotterdam on Saturday 7 July.

According to the investigation report, a communication problem was at the origin of the accident, resulting in a poor assessment of the rudder position by the captain, which led the ship to take the wrong direction. The bridge realized this too late.

Spill response

The Port Authority and the Directorate-General for Public Works and Water Management were responsible for leading the pollution response, which mainly consisted of containing the pollution by placing booms as close as possible to the vessel. Oil recovery operations on the water surface allowed for the collection of approximately 160 tonnes, three days after the incident.

Numerous port infrastructures (jetties, quays, riprap, moorings, etc.) were soiled, requiring cleaning actions in the following weeks, particularly through the use of high-pressure hot water jets to remove the aged heavy fuel oil. Several kilometers of riprap had to be replaced due to the persistence of the product.

Two hull washing areas for oiled vessels were also set up, allowing for the rapid resumption of maritime traffic to ensure minimal disruption to port activities.

Waterways fall under the jurisdiction of the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management (Rijkswaterstaat), which also deployed its own resources for the offshore intervention and coastal cleanup.

Socio-economic and environmental impacts

Navigation channels in the vicinity of the accident were temporarily closed, momentarily disrupting activities within the port.

From an ecological perspective, 500 oiled swans were captured and rehabilitated before being released the following month, and about a thousand birds in total were oiled to varying degrees by the pollution.

Compensation

Odfjell had announced that they would take responsibility for all cleanup costs "up to the maximum of their legal liability," while the total cleanup operations were estimated at 80 million euros by the Port Authority.

At the time of the accident, the Bow Jubail was in ballast and the oil spilled was heavy fuel oil for propulsion. During its previous voyage from Houston to Rotterdam via Antwerp, the Bow Jubail carried "oil" as mentioned in the 1992 CLC. Its shipowner had declared the tanks free of cargo residues at the time of the accident.

To limit its liability and costs, the shipowner asked the Rotterdam District Court to rule in accordance with the Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims, 1976 as amended by the 1996 Protocol (LLMC 76/96), while the shipowner argued for the Bunkers Convention 2001.

The judicial aspect of this case finally lasted more than six years. This is a unique case in the Netherlands regarding the responsibilities and conventions concerned.

In November 2018, the Rotterdam District Court ruled that the shipowner had not proven that the tanker did not contain persistent oil residues at the time of the accident and therefore considered the Bow Jubail to be a ship within the meaning of the definition of the 1992 Civil Liability Convention (CLC) and not to grant authorization to limit its liability under the Bunkers Convention 2001.

On 27 October 2020, the Hague Court of Appeal rendered its judgment confirming this decision of the Rotterdam District Court. The shipowner then appealed the judgment to the Supreme Court of the Netherlands, and the IOPC Funds (1992 Fund) requested to be allowed to join. Request granted in December 2021 by the Supreme Court.

In 2021, the ship's captain was fined 1,000 euros.
Legal actions were also brought by several (25) claimants before the Rotterdam District Court against the shipowner, its insurer, and other parties.

The Bow Jubail was finally judged in 2022 as a ship within the meaning of the 1992 Civil Liability Convention. Consequently, the IOPC Funds (1992 Fund) were able to provide additional compensation beyond the shipowners' liability limit.