Allegra

Vegetable oils, mainly from Asia and America, are being used increasingly in Europe, especially in the food and cosmetics industries. It follows that shipping patterns involving this kind of oil can only increase, which means that potential occurrences of maritime casualties and spills will also increase.

Accident

On 1 October 1997, in the Channel, just off the coast of Guernsey, the Liberian tanker the Allegra was involved in a collision and subsequently spilled 900 tonnes of palm oil. The oil solidified quickly forming a slick measuring 800 by 400 metres. The slick continued to spread and turned into an immense slick, 20 km long by 4 km wide. The slick came ashore on the Channel islands and in the Cotentin where it beached at high water mark. The spill was made up of 5 to 50 cm diameter margarine-like rubbery balls with a spongy yellow core and a whitish crust.

The slick drifted and as it did it was tracked by French Customs and MPCU remote sensing aircraft using airborne SLAR (Sideways Looking Airborne Radar) systems operating in the UV and IR bands. The radar system was housed in pods under the fuselage. These methods enabled the pilots to locate and track the slick for the two days following the accident. Even though the spill had no adverse effect on the marine environment, one can easily imagine the effects the widescale landing of "margarine" balls on the beach might have at the height of the summer season. Research scientists at Cedre are currently seeking to