A special investigation into the scandal published in Forbes in December revealed how mixing jet fuel with ship fuel during the coronavirus lockdown had made low sulfur fuel oil particularly toxic. Surprisingly all four organizations with global oil spill expertise were sidelined during the oil spill response and clean up, and scientists from the world’s leading oil spill analysis laboratory, Dr Chris Reddy at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts, was forced to rely on samples that had been in the ocean for ten days. Such a sidelining of a powerful group of nations offering their assistance, has never happened before in any major oil spill. Somehow, these Japanese scientists missed some of the most foundational steps needed in an oil spill response - the oil characterization. ITOPF and the Japan P&I Club have refused to respond to any media inquiry since the oil spill, despite their prominent position in coordinating critical components in the oil spill response, and emails that show how heavily they were involved in the response.

Source: Forbes January 06, 2021 13:12 UTC