FAILURE OF THE CONTINGENCY PLAN IN CASE OF HYDROCARBON SPILL

Prévia do material em texto

FAILURE OF THE CONTINGENCY PLAN IN CASE OF HYDROCARBON SPILL. 
 
In the business world, accidents and incidents of all kinds tend to happen, causing 
losses for companies. But the losses depend on the quality of action they take, with 
respect to claims, even the time it takes to respond and solve those unfortunate events. 
This is why contingency plans are created; Which are quick actions that are executed to 
counteract the claim presented. It could be strange, but the company must be prepared 
for each of these events, I know that it is produced by an internal or external factor, but 
that they can cause losses within it, be it economic, human, environmental damage and 
others. Examples of this we have: robberies, fires, earthquakes, oil spills and many 
others. 
To expand the importance of having and executing a contingency plan, we have as an 
example the facts presented in 2009, when at the time of being supplied, an internal 
breakdown of the Trinidad Sea cargo ship caused the spill of more than 50 barrels. of 
crude oil in the waters of the Gulf of Morrosquillo. 
Despite the almost immediate action of the company that owns the oil: ECOPETROL, 
the maneuvers carried out to stop the expansion of oil in the gulf and prevent its arrival 
in the waters of Tolú and Coveñas, were lost, although the contingency plan for spillage 
crude oil in aquatic environments was implemented, as in other times; The failure of this 
was appreciated when, due to a lack of communication between the responsible 
branches, early management of the location of the retaining walls or networks was not 
applied to stop the arrival of crude oil at sea. 
On many occasions, certain characters opposed the exploitation of crude oil in this 
sector, but given that: The Coveñas maritime terminal is the main port for the movement 
of hydrocarbons in Colombia that has been operating since 1939, under the direction of 
the Colpet company that It operated until the end of its contract in 1977, with a storage 
capacity of 100,000 barrels at its facilities. No agreement was reached, so the oil 
continues to be exploited legally, causing the oil spill at various times. 
Due to the oil spill and its arrival at sea, environmentalists, governors, and even 
fishermen and residents of the area, initiated large lawsuits against the company, as it 
alleged inevitable damage to the seabed. 
Remember that: The immediate impact it causes is that it creates a film on the sea 
surface that prevents light from entering the water. Within the marine ecosystem there 
are different species, such as algae, which need the arrival of light to carry out 
photosynthesis. If this does not happen, many of them may die. 
Then acute contamination takes place, which can even lead to the death of many 
organisms, because the contaminants in the crude oil compounds are extremely toxic. 
In the longer term, the spill causes years in the reproductive and feeding systems of all 
organisms in the marine ecosystem. 
Despite all efforts, the oil stain was eliminated, long after great damage to the marine 
ecosystem, and the economic impact of families living in the Gulf of Morrosquillo, so the 
company ECOPETROL, had to take charge of cleaning up the damage caused by the 
spill. 
This case is a clear reflection of the importance of the correct development of a 
contingency plan, since it is not only to execute, it is also to execute on time, correctly 
and precisely. Only in this way will the best results be obtained, without the greatest 
impact on the company, which normally usually generates economic losses. 
BIBLIOGRAFIA 
https://www.bbc.com/mundo/internacional/2010/04/100428_derrame_petroleo_claves_lp#:~:text
=Despu%C3%A9s%2C%20tiene%20lugar%20una%20contaminaci%C3%B3n,los%20organism
os%20del%20ecosistema%20marino. 
https://ejatlas.org/conflict/golfo-de-
morrosquillo#:~:text=Desde%201993%20a%20la%20fecha,de%20medidas%20aplicadas%20a
%20Ocensa. 
https://www.eltiempo.com/archivo/documento/MAM-83029 
https://www.elheraldo.co/sucre/otro-derrame-de-crudo-en-el-golfo-de-morrosquillo-414473 
https://www.bbc.com/mundo/internacional/2010/04/100428_derrame_petroleo_claves_lp#:~:text=Despu%C3%A9s%2C%20tiene%20lugar%20una%20contaminaci%C3%B3n,los%20organismos%20del%20ecosistema%20marino
https://www.bbc.com/mundo/internacional/2010/04/100428_derrame_petroleo_claves_lp#:~:text=Despu%C3%A9s%2C%20tiene%20lugar%20una%20contaminaci%C3%B3n,los%20organismos%20del%20ecosistema%20marino
https://www.bbc.com/mundo/internacional/2010/04/100428_derrame_petroleo_claves_lp#:~:text=Despu%C3%A9s%2C%20tiene%20lugar%20una%20contaminaci%C3%B3n,los%20organismos%20del%20ecosistema%20marino
https://ejatlas.org/conflict/golfo-de-morrosquillo#:~:text=Desde%201993%20a%20la%20fecha,de%20medidas%20aplicadas%20a%20Ocensa
https://ejatlas.org/conflict/golfo-de-morrosquillo#:~:text=Desde%201993%20a%20la%20fecha,de%20medidas%20aplicadas%20a%20Ocensa
https://ejatlas.org/conflict/golfo-de-morrosquillo#:~:text=Desde%201993%20a%20la%20fecha,de%20medidas%20aplicadas%20a%20Ocensa
https://www.eltiempo.com/archivo/documento/MAM-83029
https://www.elheraldo.co/sucre/otro-derrame-de-crudo-en-el-golfo-de-morrosquillo-414473