Qualla: West Cork Oil Spill https://qualla.com/west-cork-oil-spill en-us © 2026 Bendyline Wed, 08 Jul 2026 02:40:11 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/4/h/west-cork-oil-spill-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: West Cork Oil Spill https://qualla.com/west-cork-oil-spill West Cork Oil Spill: Introduction https://qualla.com/west-cork-oil-spill/ Photo credit Bruce Davidson (BruceRD), CC BY-SA 2.5. On 14 February 2009 - Valentine's Day - a satellite owned by the European Maritime Safety Agency passed over the Atlantic south of Ireland and saw something the algorithms had been trained to spot. Up to four separate slicks lay on the surface of the sea. The CleanSeaNet system flagged the images and the Irish Coast Guard was alerted within hours. A CASA CN-235 maritime patrol aircraft of the Irish Air Corps lifted off, flew south to the indicated position, and confirmed the satellite's report. Below them, surrounded by streaks of oil, the Russian Navy was refuelling its aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov at sea. Nobody had told anyone in Ireland about it.

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Image: Bruce Davidson (BruceRD) | CC BY-SA 2.5

]]> Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/4/h/west-cork-oil-spill-wp/gc4h-west-cork-oil-spill-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full West Cork Oil Spill: Three Hundred Tonnes, or Maybe Thirty https://qualla.com/west-cork-oil-spill/ Photo credit Bruce Davidson (BruceRD), CC BY-SA 2.5. Two days later the Russian naval attaché in Ireland acknowledged that yes, the Admiral Kuznetsov had been carrying out a fuel transfer from a supply tanker, and that Russian aerial surveillance had also seen oil on the surface - approximately 300 tonnes by their estimate - but of...

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Image: Bruce Davidson (BruceRD) | CC BY-SA 2.5

]]> Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/4/h/west-cork-oil-spill-wp/gc4h-west-cork-oil-spill-three-hundred-tonnes-or-maybe-thirty.mp3 0:06 2 full West Cork Oil Spill: Drift https://qualla.com/west-cork-oil-spill/ Photo credit Bruce Davidson (BruceRD), CC BY-SA 2.5. The Irish Coast Guard ran simulations. Depending on weather, the slick could reach the south-east coast of Ireland by late February and the coast of Wales shortly after. Birds, dolphins, porpoises, and seals along the south Munster coast were potentially exposed. A British destro...

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Image: Bruce Davidson (BruceRD) | CC BY-SA 2.5

]]> Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/4/h/west-cork-oil-spill-wp/gc4h-west-cork-oil-spill-drift.mp3 0:06 3 full West Cork Oil Spill: A Diplomatic Conversation https://qualla.com/west-cork-oil-spill/ Photo credit Bruce Davidson (BruceRD), CC BY-SA 2.5. The Russians sent a delegation. It was led by Vice-Admiral Vyacheslav Popov, the deputy commander of the Russian Navy, accompanied by maritime pollution experts. The discussions focused on liability, recovery costs, and the persistent disagreement over how much oil had actually b...

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Image: Bruce Davidson (BruceRD) | CC BY-SA 2.5

]]> Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/4/h/west-cork-oil-spill-wp/gc4h-west-cork-oil-spill-a-diplomatic-conversation.mp3 0:06 4 full West Cork Oil Spill: What the Sea Did Instead https://qualla.com/west-cork-oil-spill/ Photo credit Bruce Davidson (BruceRD), CC BY-SA 2.5. The slick never reached the Irish coast. The Atlantic in late February is not a kind environment for an unattended layer of fuel oil - the slick broke up and dispersed under the action of wind, wave, and biological weathering. The EMSA's CleanSeaNet continued to monitor the area ...

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]]> Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/4/h/west-cork-oil-spill-wp/gc4h-west-cork-oil-spill-what-the-sea-did-instead.mp3 0:06 5 full