Office of National Marine Sanctuaries
Office of Response and Restoration
NOAA’s Remediation of Underwater Legacy
Environmental Threats (RULET) Database
&
Wreck Oil Removal Program (WORP)
NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries
Lisa C. Symons
NOAA interests in shipwrecks
• Shipwrecks are difficult to
categorize but there are
several types:
– Historic Wrecks
– Contemporary Wrecks
– Derelict Vessels
• Navigation
• Pollution
• Historic Protection
The National Marine Sanctuary System
S.S. Jacob Luckenbach
Sank on July 14, 1953 off San Francisco. Oil removed in 2003
USS Mississinewa,
November, 1944. Sunken in Ulithi Atoll in Federated States of Micronesia.
Oil removed in 2003
Resources and Undersea Threats (RUST) Database
Cost of Removal Operation per Barrel Removed
$100,000,000
More Complex
Operation
$10,000,000
$1,000,000
$100,000
$10,000
Less Complex
Operation
$1,000
$100
$10
$1
1
10
100
1,000
Barrels Removed
10,000
100,000
SS Catala
January 1, 1965. Abandoned after failed salvage, Ocean Shores, WA,
Oil removed in 2006-2007.
Leaking Liberty Ship off Sabine Pass, TX
Vessel believed to be the SS William Beaumont, sunk 1971.
Oil removed 2009.
Gasoline Tanker USS Chehalis
Sunken 1949 in Pago Pago Harbor, American Samoa.
Oil Removed in 2010
M/V Princess Kathleen
Grounded and later sank in SE Alaska on Sept. 7, 1952.
Oil removed in 2010
RUST
Remediation of Underwater
Legacy Environmental Threats (RULET))
Initial Narrowing Criteria: 30,000 to 573
• Post 1910 Post 1902 Post 1891 (UK uses
1873)
• Steel Hull (as well as iron or concrete)
• Tanker/Tank Barge
• >200’ or 1000GT
RULET: 233 228 162 115 107
High Priority: 58 28 23
Reported to be leaking: 10
0
200
Size or Tonnage
Vessels over 1000 gross tons or 200 feet
400
600
RULET Initial Screening:
(≈580 Shipwrecks)
Over 1,000 gross tons or any tank vessel; Built post 1891; Steel, iron, or concrete hull
Removal of coal burning vessels, sailing vessels, or nonhazardous barges; Wrecks outside US EEZ; Vessels that were raised and scrapped; Ships that did not actually
sink; Wrecks that NOAA has verified as demolished. (228 Shipwrecks (Aug 2011))
Low to Medium Priority
Potential High Priority
Very Low Priority
Historic Hull Reduction
Hull dynamited
Wreck not structurally reduced or unknown
If known to contain oil still
Little vertical relief or structural integrity
Current Wreck Condition
If no oil is likely
Wreck condition is good or unknown
Reported to be a jumble of hull plates
If known to contain oil still
Likelihood of Being Discovered
Likely discoverable during dedicated survey
Already known or very likely to be discovered
If quantity and oil type may necessitate
dedicated survey
If no survey is warranted
As of
1/26/2012
If known to contain oil still
If very little oil is likely
Vessel Type
If no oil is likely
Not likely to be discovered (depths > 6,000ft.)
If quantity and oil type may necessitate
dedicated survey
If no survey is warranted
Freighter, empty tanker, tank barge, or other
Fully laden tanker or tank barge
48 Shipwrecks
23 Shipwrecks
36 Shipwrecks
Environmental models predict severe impacts
If environmental models predict no impacts
or negligible impacts
Environmental models predict severe impacts
Final Recommendation
Monitoring and surveys of opportunity
Proactive assessments
Overall awareness and surveys of opportunity
Was there oil
onboard?
Pollution Potential Tree
(USCG SERT)
No
Yes or ?
Was the wreck
demolished?
Yes
Low Pollution Risk
(As of 4/9/12) 15 vessels
No or ?
Yes
Was significant
cargo lost during
casualty?
Yes
No or ?
No or ?
Is cargo area
damaged?
Likely all cargo
lost?
Yes
Medium Pollution
Risk
(As of 4/9/12) 80 vessels
No or ?
High Pollution Risk
(As of 4/27/12) 15 vessels
Leaking Tanker off Southern Long Island, NY.
Believed to be the Coimbra , sunk by U-123 on January 15, 1942 while en
route from New York to England with a full cargo of lube oil. Investigation
is on-going
SS Davy Crockett
WWII liberty Ship. Abandoned after failed salvage, Columbia River, WA.
Oil removed in 2011
Tanker Montebello, San Luis Obispo, California
Loaded with three million gallons of crude oil when it was torpedoed and sunk on
December 23, 1941. October 2011, determined to have no significant oil on board.
NOAA RULET
All US Waters (107)
27 April 2012
Where does this information come from?
• Lloyd’s Register of British and Foreign Shipping
• Annual List of Merchant Vessels of the United States
• National Archives and Records Administration
– Records of the U.S. Maritime Commission, 1917-1950
– Records of the U.S. Shipping Board, 1914 – ca. 1939
– Records of the Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation
– Records of the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, 1875-2006
– Records of the U.S. Coast Guard, 1785-2005
• Historic Newspapers
• United States Coast Guard Incident Investigations
• Many other secondary sources (books, internet, databases)
ADUS Ltd. highresolution
multibeam survey
of Lancing.
NOAA/UT AUV
survey of the
Empire Gem,
British Splendour
(Images courtesy of
NOAA)
Prioritizing wrecks
Resources and Undersea
Threats Database
Summary Report
and follow-up
recommendations
Modeling
trajectory and fate
and consequences
Initial
Screening
based on age,
size, hull
material, type
and location
Secondary screening based on historical
information on vessel, engineering analysis
and archaeological site formation
Deliverables
Overarching Document Provides National Context
(similar to IOSC 2005 paper)
Vessel Specific Risk Assessments
(High & Medium Priority only)
- Executive Summary
- Vessel Background & Archeological Assessment
- Environmental Impact Models
- Ecological Resources At Risk
- Socio-Economic Resources At Risk
- Overall Risk Assessment & Recommendations for
Assessment, Monitoring or Remediation
Release Scenarios
• Release duration of 12 hours
• Model simulations run for a
30 days.
• Releases assumed to be from
a depth between 2 and 3
meters above the sea floor.
• Simplified oil types: e.g.,
South Louisiana light crude
(representing crude) and
Medium aromatic Fuel Oil No.
2 (representing light fuels).
Sunken Tanker Solar 1, Philippines
Modeling Assumptions
• Applied Science
Associates (ASA) Spill
Impact Map (SIMAP)
• Probabilistic mode
• Results based on running
model two hundred
times using four spill
volumes.
• Randomly selected
environmental
information from a longterm wind and current
database for the region.
SIMAP: Environmental Data Inputs
•
Winds – Long term observation records (usually 10 years), hourly average speed
and direction
•
•
Currents – Long term modeled simulations (usually 10 years), primarily 3dimensional daily average
•
•
Source: NOAA Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI)
Bathymetry – Gridded depth data
•
•
Sources: Global circulation models (e.g. HYCOM), regional hydrodynamic models (e.g.
ROMS, HYDROMAP, BFHYDRO)
Shoreline Habitats – Gridded habitat types (e.g., sand beach, wetland, rocky
shore)
•
•
Source: NOAA NCDC meteorological stations (e.g. coastal and offshore buoys)
Sources: General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans (GEBCO), NOAA NOS Hydrographic
Survey, NOAA Coastal Relief Model, NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research
Laboratory (GLERL) Bathymetry
Temperature and Salinity – Monthly average vertical profiles
•
Source: Natural Resource Damage Assessment Model for Coastal and Marine
Environments (NRDAM/CME), and Great Lakes Environment (NRDAM/GLE)
William Rockefeller: 14,054 gross tons
Pollution Potential: in theory 150,000 barrels of Bunker C
Vessel Risk Factors
A1: Oil Volume (total bbl)
Pollution
Potential
Factors
Archaeological
Assessment
Operational
Factors
Ecological
Risks
SocioEconomic
Resources
Data
Quality
Score
Risk
Score
Comments
High
93,000 barrels, leaking reported in 2011
A2: Oil Type
Low
The exact type of oil remaining is unknown
B: Wreck Clearance
High
Appears to have been partially cleared
C1: Burning of the Ship
High
Burned prior to sinking
C2: Oil on Water
Med
No oil reported on the water
D1: Nature of Casualty
High
One torpedo
D2: Structural Breakup
High
In two sections, stern yet to be located
Archaeological Assessment
High
Detailed sinking records of this ship exist,
assessment is believed to be very accurate
Wreck Orientation
High
Bow inverted, amidships broken up.
Depth
High
95 feet
Visual or Remote Sensing
Confirmation of Site Condition
High
Two sections are well-known recreational dive
sites.
Other Hazardous Materials
Onboard
High
No
Munitions Onboard
High
No
Gravesite (Civilian/Military)
High
Yes
Historical Protection Eligibility
(NHPA/SMCA)
High
NHPA and possibly SMCA
Med
Not
Ranked
WORST CASE
DISCHARGE
37 High Priority
39 Medium Priority
Not
Ranked
31 Low Priority
WCD
Most
Probable
High
Med
3A: Water Column Resources
High
Large spills of a light fuel oil can have
significant impacts to water column
resources; smaller spills are less
persistent in open water
3B: Water Surface Resources
High
Large area potentially affected, very high
use by marine birds
High
Med
3C: Shore Resources
High
Light fuel oiling on sand beaches, not
persistent, though seasonally important
shorebird habitat
Med
Low
4A: Water Column Resources
High
A significant area of water column would
be impacted in important fishing grounds
High
Med
4B: Water Surface Resources
High
Large offshore water surface area would
be impacted in areas with shipping lanes
High
High
4C: Shore Resources
High
Moderate length of shoreline with highvalue sensitive resources would be
impacted
Med
Med
MOST PROBABLE
DISCHARGE (10%)
6 High Priority
36 Medium Priority
65 Low Priority
Comparison of Final Scores by Oil Type and Oil Volume
Heavy Fuel
Crude Oil
Light Fuel
18
18
18
16
16
16
14
14
14
12
12
12
10
10
10
8
8
8
6
1,000
10,000
100,000
Barrels
1,000,000
6
1,000
10,000
100,000
Barrels
1,000,000
6
1,000
10,000
100,000
Barrels
1,000,000
NOAA RULET
All Wrecks in RRT/EPA Region 2
23 April 2012
NOAA RULET
All Wrecks in RRT/EPA Region 3
23 April 2012
NOAA RULET
All Wrecks in RRT/EPA Region 4
23 April 2012
NOAA RULET
Reportedly Leaking All Districts
**USS Arizona Not Depicted**
* For Official Use Only *
23 April 2012
Images courtesy of the National Archives
Office of National Marine Sanctuaries
Office of Response and Restoration
Questions?
Lisa Symons 301-713-7275
Lisa.Symons@noaa.gov