A number of World War II wrecks have been discovered to leak oil and their state will only deteriorate. A new partnership will identify the most vulnerable wrecks, after which sub-sea engineers and bioremediation experts will be deployed to prevent any further spill.
The programme kicked off on Thursday 23 May and is a partnership between Major Projects Foundation, the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) and the University of Newcastle. It will see scientists, engineers and marine archaeologists work with Pacific island communities to meet the challenges posed by the degradation of wrecks.
Hot-tapping, Cathodic Protection and Bioremediation
Using expertise from marine archaeologists and historians, the programme will identify wrecks posing the biggest risk of an oil spill. Once identified, sub-sea engineers and bioremediation experts will look at a number of possible techniques to prevent oil spills. These could include hot-tapping to pump out the oil directly from the tanks; cathodic protection of the ship’s hull to prevent it from rusting further and to stimulate marine growth on the wreck, making it structurally stronger; and using bacteria known to eat and breakdown oil, a process known as bioremediation.
Novel Bioremediation Technology
As part of the partnership, the University of Newcastle has funded a PhD student, Awei Bainivalu, to develop novel bioremediation technology for oil remediation based on microorganisms able to simultaneously increase oil bioavailability and degrade oil.
Ms Bainivalu, a Fiji national, was one of three Pacific Island students to be awarded a scholarship as part of the University of Newcastle’s Global Impact Cluster for Energy, Resources, Food and Water, an initiative which aims to empower students and researchers to tackle environmental issues in vulnerable island and ocean ecosystems.
MV Ocean Recovery
The launch of the partnership took place aboard MV Ocean Recovery, a refurbished ex-New Zealand Navy vessel provided by Major Projects Foundation. The teams will use this 43-metre vessel during the programme to explore priority shipwrecks. The vessel is equipped with a recompression chamber, dive bell and a surface air system to supply divers to 30 metres. The vessel’s four-point anchoring system enables it to hold precise position when moored, making it easier for teams to investigate potentially polluting wrecks.
Built in 1979, the renamed MV Ocean Recovery, was purchased by philanthropists Paul and Wilma Adams, who started Major Projects Foundation in July 2018 to help investigate damage caused by oil to coastal or sea life and coral reefs.
MV Ocean Recovery will remain in Newcastle Harbour for the next month and then conduct training and research work off the Australian coast. It will then be berthed at the Maritime Museum in Sydney for a few weeks of publicity work, before being assigned to priority wrecks in the Pacific.
Most Vulnerable Wrecks in Pacific Region
There are in excess of 3700 World War II wrecks registered globally, but the most vulnerable locations are those in the Pacific region, with Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Republic of the Marshall Islands and Solomon Islands identified as being areas at high risk of oil leakage from sunken vessels.
Protecting Marine Environments and National Heritage
As well as remediation of World War II wrecks, the partnership will see the organisations work together to find ways to protect marine environments and preserve national heritage sites in Pacific communities, as well as to minimise any adverse economic, environmental and social impacts.
Picture: The MV Ocean Recovery after completing maintenance work in dry dock in February this year (picture by Major Projects Foundation).
