Technology launched to help track oil spill culprits

The European Maritime Safety Agency has a new weapon to use in its fight against ships that damage the continent's water quality by spilling oil.

Software called Search for Unidentified Marine Objects (Sumo) is being made available by the Joint Research Centre.

The package is currently used in the Vessel Detection System (VDS), which utilises satellites to monitor the whereabouts of unlicensed boats.

Now, the technology is being handed over to the maritime agency to enable it to trace where oil pollution has come from and it can be used in line with the VDS to pinpoint the ship that is responsible for the environmental damage.

A number of high profile oil leaks have occurred across the globe in recent years, with the Guardian breaking the news that Shell has accepted liability for two spills in Africa.

Meanwhile, recent figures released by the Health and Safety Executive in the UK showed that leaks from offshore oil and gas fields fell in 2010-11.

Posted by Joseph Hutton