Marine Science Affairs 



disaster prompted widespread discussion and stimulated international atten- 

 tion to: 



— the desirability of positive traffic control, especially near shore, of 



tankers and ships with hazardous cargoes; 

 — stricter enforcement of restrictions against routine dumping of bilge- 

 water after cleaning tanks ; 

 — cooperative measures to contain or control accidental spills and those 

 resulting from dumping. 



At the direction of the President, during mid- 1967, the Secretaries of the 

 Interior and Transportation conducted a study of oil pollution and its 

 effects, present capabilities for preventing spills and controlling or correcting 

 damage, and steps that might be taken to avoid the consequences of oil 

 pollution. As an adjunct to the Presidential study, the Coast Guard inspected 

 four tanker hulls, sunk on the U.S. Continental Shelf during World War II, 

 for the possible existence of residual oil. 



The Coast Guard, Army Corps of Engineers, and Federal Water Pollu- 

 tion Control Administration jointly sponsored a state-of-the-art review on 

 prevention of oil pollution and mitigation of its effects. Areas for further 

 research and development were identified. The National Academy of Sci- 

 ences, under a Coast Guard sponsored study, developed a comprehensive 

 hazard evaluation system for bulk cargoes, which was used by a joint 

 industry-Coast Guard task group in drafting new regulations for barge 

 transportation of bulk liquids and liquified gases. 



The Intergovernmental Maritime Consultative Organization (IMCO) 

 has held several recent meetings to discuss problems connected with trans]X)rt 

 of large quantities of oil, and in particular the reduction of hazards posed 

 by the vessels. Safety of navigation, oil pollution, design of ships carrying 

 noxious cargoes, and legal aspects have been considered. Amendments to 

 the International Convention on Prevention of Pollution of the Seas by Oil 

 and the Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea will be considered at 

 IMCO meetings in the fall "of 1968. 



Channel and Harbor Research 



The Corps of Engineers has primary responsibility for construction, main- 

 tenance, and protection of channels and harbors, and supports relevant re- 

 search in such areas as water movement, shoaling, stability of breakwaters 

 and jetties, silting of ship channels, harbor surges, wave causes and charac- 

 teristics of ocean surface waves, wave refraction, propagation and effects of 

 seismic waves, and acquisition of basic data on waves and currents and sedi- 

 ment movement.^ 



° There are now 500 commercial harbors with depths up to 45 feet, approximately 

 250 small-craft harbors, and 23,000 miles of inland and intra-coastal waterways. 



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