触目惊心：史上十大漏油事故

BY ASH GRANT, AUGUST 11, 2010

作者：ASH GRANT，2010年8月11日

Oil spills have occurred ever since we began to harvest it for various uses, as a result of human error, laziness, or pure ignorance. Most recently, the devastating Deep Water Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has been all over the news- oil was pouring out of the blown rig for almost 100 days- so you probably won’t be surprised to find it on this list. More surprising: there have been worse spills in history.

    自从石油被人类社会广泛应用以来，漏油事故就时有发生，原因也各种各样——操作失误、怠慢或者单纯的疏忽等等。最近，墨西哥湾“深水地平线”钻井平台发生爆炸，近100天里，大量原油从钻井机下源源不断地涌出！这起严重的漏油事故被各大媒体争相报道，同时也登上了“史上十大漏油事故”的榜单，但其实它并不是历史上最严重的漏油事故。

Remember 1989’s Exxon Valdez oil spill? It was heavily referred to during the recent Deep Water Horizon oil spill, yet this oil spill doesn’t even make the list. Sadly, the Exxon Valdez spill seems miniscule compared to the other spills on this list. Below are the 10 worst oil spills ever recorded in history determined by the amount of oil that was leaked during the disaster:

    还记得1989年的“Exxon Valdez号油轮漏油事故”么？它所造成的污染不亚于本次发生在墨西哥湾的事故，但却不在本次的榜单之中，因为相对于以下所提到“史上十大漏油事故”而言（依照事故中的漏油量进行排名），“Exxon Valdez号油轮漏油事故”的确不值一提。

10. The MT Haven, Italy, 1991 – 45 million gallons

第十名：1991年，意大利，MTHaven号油轮漏油事故，漏油量：4500万加仑

The MT Haven was launched in 1973 after its sister ship sank earlier in the decade. The main purpose of the ship was to carry crude oil from the Middle East gulf regions to various other countries. In 1987 during the Iran-Iraq war, the ship was hit by a missile and was sent to Singapore for repair. There, after it was fixed, the ship was sold to brokers. After being sold, the ship ran from Kharg Island (located off Iran) into the Mediterranean. For years the ship successfully ran its course back and forth through the waters.  Until April 11, 1991. On this day, the ship was, as usual, unloading oil (about 230,000 tons) at a platform a few miles from Genoa, Italy. After unloading about 80,000 tons, everything went wrong during a routine internal operation and there was an explosion.

    MT Haven号油轮（译者：以下简称MT）是在1973年初次下水的，她的姊妹号沉于10年前，MT的主要任务是把中东海湾地区的原油运往世界各地。1987年“两伊战争”期间，MT被导弹击中后送往新加坡进行维修，修好之后卖给了中间商，又被转手后主要在哈格岛（位于伊朗境内）与地中海之间航行，在这两地来回成功航行了几年后，1991年4月11日，像往常一样装载了约23万吨原油的MT抵达意大利的热那亚港，在卸载了约8万吨的时候，在一次例行的内部操作中出现了致命失误，引发了大爆炸

A fire broke out immediately and flames were as high as 100 meters. More explosions occurred as millions of gallons of oil dispersed into the water. Six people were killed because of the disaster. Officials attempted to tow the ship to the land, but this failed as the keel was broken. A day after the explosion the ship sank, and for 12 years continued to leak oil. In the end the new owners of the ship were blamed due to repair of the ship after it was hit by a missile and put back into operation. (Image: underwater ship wreck of the MT Haven.)

    火势马上蔓延起来，火焰在最高时曾达到100多米，一连串的爆炸使数百万加仑的石油倾泻到大海里，6个人在这场灾难中丧生。意大利政府曾试图将MT拖至岸边，但由于龙骨受损严重而以失败告终，一天后MT沉没，在后来的12年里，船上的石油还在往海里泄漏。最终这艘船的主人被公众严重谴责，质问他为什么要把一艘被导弹击中过的船草草修补后就投入商业运营之中。（图片：MT在海底的残骸）

9. ABT Summer, Angola, 1991 – 51 million gallons

第九名：1991年，安哥拉，ABTSummer号油轮漏油事故，漏油量：5100万加仑

On May 28, 1991, the oil tanker ABT Summer was on its way from Iran to Rotterdam. It was carrying about 260,000 tons of oil. Near the end of its journey, the ABT Summer suddenly burst into flames. The ship was about 900 miles away from Angola. Once the flames began, the oil also started to leak from the tanker. The oil eventually began to form a slick that spread out to be about 80 square miles. The oil itself also burned too. The tanker was on fire for 3 whole days until it sank on June 1. After sinking, officials attempted to recover and locate the wreckage, but their efforts proved to be unsuccessful.

    1991年5月28日，装载了26万吨原油的ABT Summer号（译者：以下简称ABT）油轮航行在伊朗至鹿特丹的航线上，在航程马上要结束的时候，ABT突然起火，这时距离安哥拉900英里，石油从起火的那一刻起开始流入海中，最终在海面上形成了一个80平方英里大的油膜，大量的原油在持续燃烧了整整三天之后，ABT才沉入海中。沉没后，官方曾试图确定残骸的位置，但是没有成功。

There is no clear evidence of exactly how much oil was burned or how much sank during the disaster. Out of the 32 crew-members on the ship, 5 of them died because of the explosion. While 51 million gallons of oil spilled into the water, there was nothing ever professionally done to fix it. It wasn’t too close to the coastline, so many believed that the high movement of the seas would eventually break up the oil slick and carry it away from the shore, reducing or completely eliminating any type of environmental impact.

    没有证据可以证明到底有多少石油被燃烧掉，还是流入到大海中了。船上的32名成员中有5名在爆炸中丧生，5100万加仑的石油泄漏到海里，这样的损失是任何努力都无法弥补的！好在事故地点距离海岸比较远，大多数人认为海浪将油污打散并将其带离海岸，降低甚至消除了这次事故对环境的影响。

8. The Amoco Cadiz, France, 1978 – 69 million gallons

第八名：1978年，法国，AmocoCadiz号油轮漏油事故，漏油量：6900万加仑

In 1978, the Amoco Cadiz, a very large crude carrier, was on its way from the Persian Gulf to Rotterdam with a stop in Great Britain. During this stop the ship experienced very unsettled water due to unstable weather conditions. The morning of the stop, a very heavy wave crashed into the ship’s rudder. The rudder was damaged and efforts to repair it failed. The ship sent out messages stating that it was unable to move, but no one on the ship called for assistance from a tug until hours later. A German tug eventually responded to the call but the high seas made assistance difficult. A tow line was eventually attached, but it broke, and a successful line was not put on until 8:55 that night. In efforts to stop the drifting, the Amoco Cadiz dropped its anchor, but the strong winds and mass of the tanker were too strong. At about 9:00PM, the ship ran aground, which then caused the engines to flood, which then ripped the hull and allowed oil to escape.

    1978年，Amoco Cadiz号超级油轮（译者：以下简称AC）在波斯湾至鹿特丹航线中途的英国海域中抛锚，在抛锚期间，AC面临着恶劣天气、不稳定水况的严峻考验。一天早晨，一个巨大的海浪拍向AC的方向舵，受损的方向舵已无法修复，但AC对外发出的消息却仅仅是“无法航行”，船上没有一个人呼叫拖船进行援助，直到一个小时后，一艘德国的拖船才对“呼救”做出回应，但是汹涌的海浪让援救变得非常困难，一条牵引绳好不容易接上后又断掉了，直到晚上8点55分才将牵引绳重新接好。为了组织船体漂流下去，AC抛弃了船锚，但是由于风力过强，再加上船身又太重，晚上9点的时候，AC由于发动机进水而搁浅，之后AC开始往海洋里倾泻石油，以保证船员的人身安全。

The next morning, the ship split in half and 69 million gallons of oil washed into the English Channel. Thankfully, everyone was rescued by French Naval Aviation troops, so no one died during the incident. Eventually the French Navy would sink the ship. None of the oil was able to be pumped out of the tanker due to the horrible weather. The oil eventually reached beaches and spread 200 miles along the coastline.

    第二天早晨，油轮断为两节，6900万加仑的石油被冲到英吉利海峡之中，幸运的是，所有船员被法国海军航空部队安全救出，所以本次事故中没有人员死亡。最终，AC被法国海军击沉，由于天气恶劣，船内的石油无法被抽出，最终都被冲到岸边，绵延分布于200英里的海岸线上。

7. Castillo de Bellver, South Africa, 1983 – 79 million gallons

第七名：1983年，南非，Castillode Bellver号油轮漏油事故，漏油量：7900万加仑

The Castillo de Bellver was carrying 252,000 tons of crude oil to South Africa on August 6, 1983. Once the ship was about 70 miles off of Cape Town, it suddenly caught fire, which caused the ship to drift and then break into two separate pieces. The stern, which may have been carrying about 100,000 tons of oil, was capsized about 24 miles from the South African coast. Once the flames died down and no more explosions were expected, the ship’s bow was towed away from the coast and then explosive charges were used to sink it. 50,000-60,000 tons of the oil may have sank into the sea or burned during the fire.

    1983年8月6日，Castillo de Bellver号油轮（译者：以下简称CB）满载25.2万吨原油前往南非，但就在距离开普敦70英里的地方突然起火，CB漂了一段时间后断为两截，严重的是，有近10万吨原油可能会泄漏在南非的24英里海岸上。火势熄灭后没有再发生爆炸，船头部分被拖至海中并将其炸沉，有5-6万吨原油被烧掉或泄漏到海中。

Thankfully, the oil never reached the coastline. It was headed towards the coast but a wind shift changed the direction of the oil back away from the coast. There wasn’t much clean up with this oil spill though dispersants were used. The impact wasn’t as serious as it could have been and wildlife seemed to be able to cope.

    幸运的是这些泄漏的石油并没有漂至海岸线上，原本漂向海岸的石油由于风向改变而漂离了海岸，这起漏油事故最终被化油剂清理干净，没有对生态环境造成太大的破坏。

6. Nowruz Oil Field, Persian Gulf, 1983 – 80 million gallons

第六名：1983年，波斯湾，Nowruz油田漏油事故，漏油量：8000万加仑

The year of 1983 really proved to be a horrible year at the Nowruz Oil Field. There were several different incidents that resulted in oil being spilled into the Persian Gulf. All of these incidents occurred during the height of the Iran-Iraq War. During the war, an oil tanker collided into an oil platform in the Persian Gulf. The power and force of the collision caused the platform to fall into a 45 degree angle-position. Waves and daily corrosion eventually caused the riser to fall into the wellhead. This of course caused heavy damage and for months, the well leaked 1,500 barrels of oil each day. Even though many planned efforts to stop the leakage were put into place, capping the well was seen as too dangerous because Iraqi planes were constantly attacking the platform.

    1983年对于Nowruz油田来说是多灾多难的一年，这一年里发生了多起不同的事故，导致大量石油流入波斯湾中，而所有这些事故都发生在“两伊战争”期间。其中一次是一艘油轮撞上了位于波斯湾的Nowruz油田的钻井平台，碰撞所产生的巨大力量将整个平台掀起了整整45度，随着海浪与海水的日益侵蚀，主油管落入井口之中，这直接造成巨大的破坏，每天约有1500桶石油涌出，尽管制订了许多阻止进一步漏油的计划，但是由于伊拉克战机不断攻击油井而搁浅。

Before this first incident was resolved, there were more oil spills. For example, in March 1983, Iraqi helicopters attacked a platform in the Nowruz Oil Field. During this incident alone, over 733,000 barrels of oil were spilled. The spill was finally stopped and capped in May 1983, but only after 9 people died in the attempt to cap the well. The first Nowruz incident was not solved until September 1983- 11 men had died during attempts to stop the leak.

    在本次事故，也就是Nowruz油田1983年发生的第一次漏油事故得到彻底解决前，又陆续发生了几次漏油事故。比如1983年3月，伊拉克直升机袭击了Nowruz油田的一个钻井平台，单单这次事故中，就有超过73.3万桶的石油泄漏，最终在1983年5月才成功封住油井，但这时已经有9人在封堵油井的过程中丧生。而第一次漏油事故直到1983年9月才控制住，共有11人在封堵油井的过程中失去生命。

5. Fergana Valley/Mingbulak, Russia, 1992 – 88 million gallons

第五名：1992年，苏联Fergana山谷，Mingbulak油田漏油事故，漏油量：8800万加仑

When you think about an oil spill you probably picture a capsized tanker or drilling platform issue; however, the Fergana Valley oil spill didn’t involve either. This case of the Fergana Valley oil spill is definitely one of ignorant thinking. It stands as one of the largest inland oil spills ever recorded. The Fergana Valley is located between Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan which was a densely populated area with highly fertile land for agriculture. Vast oil deposits were discovered under the land- of course with this type of finding, drilling would happen, and it did.

    通常当你听到漏油事故时，首先想到的情景可能是沉没的油轮或毁坏的钻井台，但是发生在Fergana山谷的漏油事故却并非如此，这次事故完全是由于疏忽大意造成的，这也是历史上最大的内地漏油事件！Fergana山谷位于吉尔吉斯斯坦和乌兹别克斯坦之间，这是一片土地肥沃、人口稠密的农业地区，在这里发现了储量巨大的石油，进行开采自然是难免的。

On March 2, 1992, an oil well located in the area experienced a mechanical breakdown which then caused an oil blow out. This well was one of the most active in the location, resulting in the spilling of 88 million gallons of oil. The oil quickly flowed out of the well and into the valley. The oil from the well had been leaking for 8 months, but dikes were used to hold it back. Eventually the dikes failed and oil was sent into the Russian Arctic. The oil somehow stopped flowing on its own. The oil field was abandoned soon after.

    1992年3月2日，当地的一口油井发生了机械故障，直接引起原油从油井中涌出。由于这口井是该地最活跃的油井之一，所以导致多达8800万加仑的原油从地下涌出，并且马上溢满了整个山谷。石油往外流了整整8个月，用来防护的堤坝根本起不到作用，石油最远流入到位于俄罗斯的北极圈内，最终还是石油自己停止了流动，而该油田也在不久后被弃用。

4. Atlantic Empress/Aegean Captain, Trinidad and Tobago, 1979 – 90 million gallons

第四名：1979年，特立尼达和多巴哥共和国，大西洋皇后号与爱琴海船长号油轮相撞事故，漏油量：9000万加仑

On July 19, 1979, there was a very strong tropical storm in the Caribbean Sea near the Venezuelan coast very close to Tobago. Two ships, the Atlantic Empress and the Aegean Captain, were out on the sea trying to battle through the storm. The storm was extremely severe and weather conditions were horrible and the two ships collided. The Atlantic Empress, a fully loaded supertanker, carrying millions of gallons of oil, exploded into flames. Along with the explosion came the rushing of oil into the water, which wasn’t stopped until August 3, 1979.

    1979年7月19日，强烈的热带风暴席卷了加勒比海上距离多巴哥很近的委内瑞拉海岸，此时，“大西洋皇后号”与“爱琴海船长号”两艘油轮正在海上与这场风暴抗争着，异常猛烈的风暴和恶劣的天气导致这两艘油轮撞到了一起，满载数千万加仑石油的超级油轮“大西洋皇后号”在相撞后爆炸起火，伴随爆炸的是大量的石油流入海中，直到8月3号才停止。

A lot of the oil that was leaked burned in the fire; however, by the end of it all, 90 million gallons had seeped into the water near Tobago. The Atlantic Empress eventually sank, which brought an end to this oil disaster. Today it stands as the largest ship oil spill today.

    虽然大量石油在泄漏后被烧掉，但是依然有9000万加仑流入距离多巴哥很近的海域中， “大西洋皇后号”最终沉没，从而结束了这场石油灾难。时至今日，它还是历史上最大的油轮漏油事故！

3. Ixtoc I, Mexico, 1979 – 138 million gallons

第三名：1979年，墨西哥，IxtocI油田漏油事故，漏油量：1.38亿加仑

The Ixtoc I incident in Mexico is one that did not involve a tanker. Instead, the spill of 138 million gallons of oil was caused by a faulty offshore oil well. Pemex, a Mexican petroleum company, was attempting to drill an oil well when an unexpected blowout occurred on June 3, 1979. In no time the oil ignited, the drilling rig collapsed and oil began to freely flow into the Gulf of Mexico. Officials predicted that 10,000-30,000 barrels of oil a day were going into the Gulf. The horrible part is that it took almost a year to stop the leak. It was successfully capped in 1980, only after millions of gallons of oil had polluted waters.

    Ixtoc I油田的漏油事故中没有涉及到“油轮”，取而代之的是一座位置错误的海上油井，此次事故中有1.38亿加仑的石油泄漏海中。1979年6月3日，墨西哥石油公司Pemex在钻探一个油井时发生意外井喷，石油瞬间被点燃，钻台倒塌，大量原油毫无阻拦地流入墨西哥湾。官方预测每天有1-3万桶原油流入海湾中，糟糕的是用了将近一年时间才将其封住，到1980年该漏油口被封住时，已经有上亿加仑的石油污染了海域。

Thankfully, Mother Nature helped with the Ixtoc I oil spill. Westerly winds and storms were able to keep the oil away and off of beaches near southeastern Texas and eastern Mexico, although some of the oil did reach South Island. Beaches were soiled, but the outcome could have been much worse if the weather did not cooperate.

    幸运的是，大自然母亲帮了Ixtoc I油田一把，偏西的海风及风暴将泄漏的石油吹离德克萨斯州东南部与墨西哥东部的海滩，虽然部分石油还是漂到了南帕德里艾岛的海滩上，但如果不是天公作美的话，后果将不堪设想。

2. Deepwater Horizon, Gulf of Mexico, 2010 – 172 million gallons

第二名：2010年，墨西哥湾，“深水地平线”漏油事故，漏油量：1.72亿加仑

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill located in the Gulf of Mexico occurred on April 20, 2010 after methane gas was somehow put under extremely high pressure, which then caused it to travel up the drill column and eventually ignite. The ignition then prompted an explosion that killed 11 workers (presumed dead as bodies were never found) and injured 17. The ship burned for about 36 hours, after efforts to calm the fire failed, and sank on April 22, 2010. The well continued to leak for over 100 days after various efforts and plans to stop the leak failed. Oil dispersants were widely spread throughout the waters, which helped some. A final fix came about on August 3, 2010 when mud was pumped into the well to stop the flow of oil.

    2010年4月20日，位于墨西哥湾的“深水地平线”钻井平台发生漏油事故，事故原因是钻杆内部中的甲烷气体过多，形成巨大压力，气体在冲破钻杆后发生自燃并引起爆炸，这次爆炸共造成11名工人死亡（遗体已无法找到），17名工人受伤。由于火势无法得到控制，钻井平台在燃烧了36个小时后，于2010年4月22日沉没。在后来的100多天里，人们尝试了各种方法来阻止石油继续泄漏，但都以失败告终，大量化油剂被喷洒在海面上，这多少起到了一些作用。2010年8月3日，钻井才被用泵打入的泥封死，停止了泄漏。

The disturbing part of this spill is that it could have been avoided. Several workers on the platform spoke of their concerns regarding the well months before, but no action was ever really taken. The effects of this oil spill have been truly horrible. Animals have suffered, including pelicans, turtles, birds, and various others. Also, many people are out of plenty of money, jobs, and- in many cases- hope.(Note: The amount of oil listed for the Deep Water Horizon oil spill was confirmed on August 2, 2010. Of course, the amount may change.)

    让人不解的是这次事故其实完全可以避免，平台上的一些工人早在几个月前就对钻井表示了担忧，但是官方却没有采取任何措施。这次泄漏事故所导致的结果是极其严重的，许多生物因此遭受灭顶之灾，包括鹈鹕、海龟、鸟类以及其他物种，许多人也在这次事故中失去了财产、工作，甚至是希望！（注：“深水地平线”钻井平台的漏油量统计于2010年8月2日，这个数字还有可能发生改变）

1. Gulf War, Kuwait, 1991 – 520 million gallons

第一名：1991年，科威特，海湾战争，漏油量：5.2亿加仑

The Gulf War oil spill was not an accident; the oil was spilled purposefully during wartime. During the Gulf War in 1991, Iraqi forces, in hopes of thwarting the arrival of American Marine soldiers as well as lessening American oil supplies, unsealed and opened the valves located at an offshore oil terminal named Sea Island. They also dumped oil from many different tankers into the Persian Gulf. The media first reported that airstrikes from the Americans had blown up two oil tankers. In the end this wasn’t the case, though the Americans did eventually destroy the pipelines to avert more oil spilling into the Gulf.

    发生在“海湾战争”期间的漏油事件不是意外事故，完全是战时需要而刻意为之。1991年“海湾战争”期间，为了阻止美国海军陆战队的进攻并切断对美国的石油供应，伊拉克军队打开了海上油井——“海岛”的管道阀门，同时他们将许多油轮中的石油也倾倒进波斯湾中，这些事件在美军通过空袭炸毁了两艘油轮后才被媒体报道出来。尽管输油管道最后被美军破坏掉，避免了更多的石油蔓延进波斯湾，但那时已经无济于事了。

By the end of it all, about 172 million gallons of oil poured into the Gulf. The oil covered over 4000 square miles and some of it was 5-inches thick. A study conducted after the oil spill found that the spill probably did very little damage in the long-term due to the fact that most of the oil evaporated and millions of barrels were able to be recovered. In the short-term, the impact on wildlife living in Kuwait and Iraq was devastating.

    最终，共有约1.72亿加仑的石油泄漏到海湾中，油层覆盖了4000多平方公里的海面，有些地方达5英寸厚。随后的一项调查研究表明，由于大部分石油被蒸发掉，所以从长期来看，这次事故不会对周边环境造成太大的破坏；但从短期来看，生活在科威特和伊拉克之间的野生动物们，则遭受到了毁灭性的打击！

翻译后记：在翻译完这篇文章的时候，我的心久久不能平静，我不知道仁慈的地球在遭受了这么多的人为灾难后，还能承受多久……或许真的应该来上一次2012，让这些在地球上“为所欲为、肆无忌惮”的人类好好尝尝自己酿下的恶果！读完此文，请您顶下这篇文章或留下你的看法，为那些在漏油事故中受苦受难的生物们送上一份来自我们人类的祝福，毕竟它们才是最最无辜的！