GLOBAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE ISSUE What are oil tankers? Oil tankers are ocean vessels that transport petroleum oil (10). Petroleum is a liquid mixture composed of hydrocarbons and is mainly used to produce gasoline (10). Tankers can transport crude oil from oil extraction sites, such as tar sands, to refineries (11). Alternatively, they can transport refined oil from refineries to consumers (11). How do oil tanker spills happen? Oil spills from tankers in the ocean occur mainly from loading and discharging oil, equipment and hull failures, collisions, fires, or explosions (12). Since the 1970’s, there have been significant improvements in…