Jet fuel spills into the North Sea: Who deals with pollution, and how is it cleaned up?

On Monday morning, a tanker carrying jet fuel collided with a cargo ship off the coast of East Yorkshire, sparking a fire onboard, and environmental concerns for the North Sea.

The company running the tanker, the Stena Immaculate, confirmed that a tank containing Jet-A1 fuel was ruptured during the collision, with fuel released into the water as a result.

But what happens when pollution is released into UK seas, and whose job is it to clean it up? ITV News explains.

How is pollution defined when it comes to our seas?

Pollution in the seas and oceans is defined as "any substance that could be damaging to the marine environment."

According to HM Coastguard, that includes lumps of wax washed onto a beach; plastics; timber, or other substances lost from shipping containers, including oil and fuel.

Whose job is it to respond to pollution?

The UK is responsible for responding to any pollution within its Exclusive Economic Zone, which reaches up to 200 nautical miles from land. HM Coastguard is the first port of call for incidents of pollution.

Which organisation takes the lead depends exactly on the situation. Public agencies will often work together to respond to incidents at sea.

A local port or harbour authority will have a duty to respond within areas they control. They usually have their own counter pollution equipment to deploy.

Commercial companies also have a legal obligation to act if they cause pollution, with their responses closely scrutinised and monitored by the Coastguard. The Counter Pollution and Salvage Team, a part of HM Coastguard, will swing into action when there is a serious risk of pollution at sea, and where a rapid response is required.

How do teams react to pollution?

The first job of the Coastguard once pollution is reported is to find its source. Key questions would be: What's been spilled? Where will it go? What damage will it cause?

Some of those questions are answered by using computer models.

The most important goal of the Coastguard is to stop the pollution spreading and reaching land, where it can cause further damage to public health, the environment, communities and the economy.

To achieve this containment, the Coastguard has a toolkit at its disposal:

• Booms: These are inflatable tubes hundreds of metres in length, that come in a variety of sizes to suit the pollution and conditions. These are laid on the surface of the water to stop pollution spreading, and to make the recovery of oil possible. Some can be made of absorbent material to soak up substances like diesel oil. Booms become less efficient in rough weather.

• Skimmers: Recovery is achieved using specialised mechanical devices called skimmers. They are designed to float on the sea surface and pump contained oil into waste and storage units.

• Containment and Recovery Systems: Combined containment and recovery systems provide a more integrated capability, with booms and skimmers operating as a single unit. In general, these are more flexible in their uses and can cover shallow to deep offshore waters. All are towed by vessels.

• Chemical dispersion: One way to speed up the process of oil breaking up is to spray specially formulated dispersant from modified aircraft or boats. The effect is similar to the effect of washing up liquid on grease: it helps break down the oil into very small particles which, over time, become more diluted, and are eventually eaten by bacteria.

• Degradation: In smaller quantities, some oils are light enough to be significantly broken up through the technique of driving a boat through them, or by other means, to mix up the surface layer of the sea, scattering the oil into smaller drops away from the surface. The aim is to speed up the natural action of the waves, wind and tide.

How can pollution be stopped from happening?

Ensuring the safety and seaworthiness of vessels is essential to avoiding the kinds of incidents that lead to major pollution.

HM Coastguard is part of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, which has hundreds of people working every day to keep the waters around the UK safe.

HM Coastguard keeps a 24-hour watch, monitoring shipping traffic in order to avoid dangerous situations and can, where necessary, assist vessels that might be in trouble.

They can send out support vessels when needed and may use the UK's emergency towing vessel, the Ievoli Black, based in the north of Scotland. By catching problems early, escalation can be avoided and the risk of a pollution problem reduced.

Surveyors for the Maritime and coastguard Agency regularly check an array of vessels, from water taxis to oil tankers, which operate on UK coasts to ensure they are in proper condition to sail safely and cleanly.

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