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Best TV shows with the worst endings

All good things must come to an end, even successful television shows, and sometimes the best shows have the worst endings. Whether its a show thats gone on well past its prime, or a show whose original cast left and were replaced by actors who paled in comparison, or a reboot or revival with a promising start that stalled after a season or two, even great shows arent perfect.

To determine the 50 best TV shows with the worst endings, Stacker compiled data on the best TV shows on IMDb with more than 50,000 votes and ranked them according to the average IMDb user rating across the final season. User ratings are ranked according to full value, but only two decimals places are shown. Those listed as ties are exact ties down to the last decimal. Data is up to date as of Sept. 16.

These shows represent every genre from sci-fi to drama and come from all over the world. They are about witches and horsemen and include a British sketch comedy. One is set in a fifth dimension not known to man, another is about a suburban mother who resorts to selling drugs, and there are three versions of a space show with a cult-like following that spans five decades.

While it may seem many of these shows have little in common, the thread that ties them together is that somewhere along the line things went bad. In the end, they left a trail of disappointed or confused fans who wondered what exactly happened to that show they loved. Keep reading to see how many shows on the list ranked among your favorites with the very worst endings.

- Final season IMDb user rating: 7.68- Total seasons: 8

Charmed featured the Halliwell sisters, three women who found out they were powerful witches meant to fight evil. The final season was plagued with budget cuts and the final episode, which found middle-sister Piper traveling back in time to prevent the events that led to her sisters deaths, was okay, but the time travel storyline woven throughout was confusing and fans were upset that Shannen Doherty didnt return as eldest Halliwell sister, Prue, for a final goodbye. Doherty left the show in 2001 and was replaced by Rose McGowan, the long-lost half sister.

#49. Sleepy Hollow (2013-2017)

- Final season IMDb user rating: 7.68- Total seasons: 4

The supernatural show aired on Fox and was loosely based on the 1820 short story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving. The main character, Ichabod Crane, is resurrected and sent to the future to solve a mystery from the past. While the first two seasons received favorable reviews, things went downhill in the final seasons. Not only did the storyline become convoluted, but the once diverse cast was pared down and fans felt betrayed.

#48. Will & Grace (1998-2020)

- Final season IMDb user rating: 7.67- Total seasons: 11

The Will & Grace 2017 reboot pretended the original season finale never happened, and it set Will and Grace back to where they were when fans left them years earlier. While it was interesting to revisit these characters, by the third season, many fans wondered if the producers should have let the characters go gentle into that good night. It seemed Will & Grace had many things to say, but they werent anything fans hadnt heard years earlier.

#47. Gossip Girl (2007-2012)

- Final season IMDb user rating: 7.66- Total seasons: 6

While the first season of the show received excellent reviews and a score of 79% on Rotten Tomatoes, many fans thought finding out the identity of Gossip Girl ruined the show. Others were upset about how little sense it made to continue a high school show once the characters were out of high school.

#46. Futurama (1999-2013)

- Final season IMDb user rating: 7.65- Total seasons: 10

Matt Groening, who created the long-running animated marvel The Simpsons, also created Futurama, which first aired on New Years Eve, 1999, and was about a pizza delivery boy who froze himself in the present only to wake up in the future. The show, hailed as a funny and sharp comedy, remained on Fox for four seasons until 2003. For many, the 2008 Comedy Central reboot simply was not as funny as it was during the first go-round.

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

#45. Monty Pythons Flying Circus (1969-1974)

- Final season IMDb user rating: 7.65- Total seasons: 4

Initially, critics were not fond of the British sketch-comedy Monty Pythons Flying Circus and found its comedy crude and inappropriate. As time went on, the tides changed, and so did the audience and critical response. Perhaps it was because there was nothing like it on television. John Cleese left after the third season, and the disarming charm of such innovative comedy wore thin with the fourth season of the show that featured more misses than hits.

Elizabeth Meriwether Pictures

#44. New Girl (2011-2018)

- Final season IMDb user rating: 7.64- Total seasons: 7

A solid performer for Fox, New Girl debuted in 2011 and was a comedy about a teacher who moved into a Los Angeles loft with three men. Ratings dropped during the sixth season, and Fox prepared what could serve as a series finale, though it did wind up picking the show up for a shortened seventh season. Writing for Decider, Lea Palmieri voiced what many were thinking, After last nights New Girl series finale, well, it kind of feels like maybe we didnt need that seventh and final season after all.

#42. Pretty Little Liars (2010-2017) (tie)

- Final season IMDb user rating: 7.64- Total seasons: 7

Pretty Little Liars followed a group of teenage girls who were keeping a deadly secret. Many fans felt the payoff in the final season was not worth the seven-year wait. They learned the identities of A, Uber A, A.D., and found the truth to be entirely underwhelming.

#42. Sex and the City (1998-2004) (tie)

- Final season IMDb user rating: 7.64- Total seasons: 6

Based on the book by author Candace Bushnell, Sex and the City was about the adventures of writer Carrie Bradshaw as she navigated love and life in New York City. It gave us a solid group of female friends who supported each other, and it also brought fashion and womens sexuality to the forefront. The end though, left many fans and the shows creator, Darren Star, as well as writer Bushnell, disappointed.

#41. Luke Cage (2016-2018)

- Final season IMDb user rating: 7.62- Total seasons: 2

Luke Cage, a Netflix original based on a Marvel comic book hero who gains superhuman abilities after an experiment goes awry, received positive reviews for its first season, though it fell into the dreaded sophomore slump. The show fell apart behind the scenes too, and Netflix canceled it after the second season.

#40. Star Trek: Voyager (1995-2001)

- Final season IMDb user rating: 7.61- Total seasons: 7

While many Star Trek fans were upset about the addition of Voyager to the franchise, the show definitely had a following and some solid reviews. The show was about another crew with Kathryn Janeway as its captain, cruising around space in the 24th century. Many felt the finale had an abrupt end, and declining ratings in the final season didnt help.

- Final season IMDb user rating: 7.61- Total seasons: 7

When Scandal aired for the first time, it was a riveting political thriller about a Washington D.C. crisis management firm run by an intelligent woman, played by Kerry Washington, until the show descended into a nighttime soap opera. Its ambiguous ending also frustrated many fans and left them wondering what happened to Olivia Pope. The ending was intentional though, as series creator Shonda Rhimes wanted viewers to draw some of their own conclusions.

#38. The X-Files (1993-2018)

- Final season IMDb user rating: 7.61- Total seasons: 11

When it premiered in 1993, the show was about two FBI agentsone who believed in the possibility of the impossible and one who did not. When it returned for its revival in 2016, dynamic duo Mulder and Scullys banter remained much to fans delight, but a battle began, tooone between the fun, darkly humorous one-off shows and the overall alien-mythology arc the show carried from day one. In the end, series creator Chris Carter, much like the shows main character Fox Mulder, could not let go of his obsession and this time around, fans didnt seem all that interested.

#37. Lie to Me (2009-2011)

- Final season IMDb user rating: 7.60- Total seasons: 3

The show was about a detection expert who read peoples body language and could tell if they were lying. Tim Roth played Cal Lightman, a character loosely based on real-life Paul Ekman, who has a doctorate in clinical psychology. While the first season performed well for Fox, the following seasons saw a decline in ratings. A bit of an upswing during the third season wasnt enough to save the show.

20th Century Fox Television

#36. How I Met Your Mother (2005-2014)

- Final season IMDb user rating: 7.59- Total seasons: 9

With the buildup of one single question for nine seasonshow the main character Ted Mosby met his wife and the mother of his childrenfans expected a lot because they had given a lot. When it was revealed that the mother was not who fans expected, they were disappointed. The final season felt disjointed from the rest of the seasons, which it turned out were not just about one single question, but rather years of growing friendships and helping each other to survive.

#35. Falling Skies (2011-2015)

- Final season IMDb user rating: 7.59- Total seasons: 5

The Steven Spielberg-produced show was promising and offered an interesting premise. It followed several survivors as they struggled in the aftermath of an alien attack. Writing for Variety, Brian Lowry thought the show was already suffering, especially in the final season and wrote of the finale, The final episode, after a protracted and sometimes meandering buildup, had a slightly anticlimactic quality, reinforcing, more than anything, that it was overdue for Chicken Littles warning to finally come true.

#34. Iron Fist (2017-2018)

- Final season IMDb user rating: 7.58- Total seasons: 2

Iron Fist, another installment in the Netflix Marvel universe, followed hero Danny Rand, who was presumed dead for a decade and a half after his return to New York City. Yet another casualty in the Marvel Netflix saga, the show tried, but only ran for two seasons. While many found the second season to be an improvement, the show still struggled and never gained the traction of the other Marvel series.

#32. Dexter (2006-2013) (tie)

- Final season IMDb user rating: 7.53- Total seasons: 8

The television show about a serial killer who only killed bad people, Dexter was an innovative show with a unique concept. Yet with each passing season, fans seemed to tire of the lead characters neat and efficient way of getting out of every situation. The show also had one of the worst endings in television history.

#32. The Big Bang Theory (2007-2019) (tie)

- Final season IMDb user rating: 7.53- Total seasons: 12

While The Big Bang Theory started strong, it continued to go on and on, for 12 seasons, with many critics and fans wondering whether it had outlived its expiration date. The show featured a group of nerds and one pretty, but clueless girl, played by Kaley Cuoco.

#31. Designated Survivor (2016-2019)

- Final season IMDb user rating: 7.53- Total seasons: 3

After the president is killed, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Thomas Kirkman, played by Kiefer Sutherland, is the designated survivor and takes over the presidency. The show ran for three seasons, two on ABC and one on Netflix, which saved the show after ABC canceled it. The pilot episode had 10 million viewers, but the fanfare didnt last for many reasons, and Netflix didnt renew it for a fourth season.

#30. The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1990-1996)

- Final season IMDb user rating: 7.52- Total seasons: 6

Will Smith plays a teen from Philly who gets in a fight and is sent by his mother to live with his wealthy aunt and uncle in Bel-Air, California. While certainly not a ratings darling initially, the show gained a loyal following and was a hit. By the final season, many critics and fans tired of the formulaic nature of the show, and the strange disappearance of one Aunt Viv, who was replaced with another after the third season, frustrated and confused some.

- Final season IMDb user rating: 7.52- Total seasons: 2

A reimagining of the 1980s series about an alien race that comes to Earth, this version didnt last either. The first season of the show brought in decent ratings and the network ordered a second season, but the show sputtered. Unfortunately, the series finale was one of the best episodes of the struggling series, but it was too late to save the show.

#28. Nip/Tuck (2003-2010)

- Final season IMDb user rating: 7.52- Total seasons: 6

Nip/Tucks opening line, Tell us what you dont like about yourself, brought some of the most outrageous storylines. The show, a story about two plastic surgeons and their controversial medical practice, was groundbreaking for its boundary-pushing, though it may have been exactly this that caused it to get off track. It seemed with each successive season, it became harder to top the last crazy plotline and in the end, many fans felt Nip/Tuck had fallen into foolish and frightening frivolity.

#27. The Twilight Zone (1959-1964)

- Final season IMDb user rating: 7.49- Total seasons: 5

The original show ran on CBS for five seasons and featured unique stories written by Rod Serling. By the time the final season ran, changes in producers, a lesser level of involvement by Serling, and repetitive storylines plagued the show. In 2019, writer/director Jordan Peele created the latest TwilightZonerevival.

#26. Californication (2007-2014)

- Final season IMDb user rating: 7.48- Total seasons: 7

Californicationis a story about a troubled New York writer played by David Duchovny who moves to Los Angeles and suffers from a severe case of writers block. While many critics initially enjoyed the show, after time it suffered from repetitive and tired storylines that led many to believe seven seasons were far too many.

#25. The Following (2013-2015)

- Final season IMDb user rating: 7.45- Total seasons: 3

The first season of the Fox drama featuring Kevin Bacon as an FBI agent chasing a serial killer did well. By the third season, the once-promising plot had derailed, and the series finale was a disappointment. Writing for Variety, Bryan Lowry noted, And the two-hour finale only drove home how the program squandered its assets, with the end coming two years and many dozens, if not hundreds, of killings too late.

#24. Wayward Pines (2015-2016)

- Final season IMDb user rating: 7.44- Total seasons: 2

Based on a trilogy of novels by author Blake Crouch about the end of mankind and its renewal, the first season of the science-fiction show found an audience. Initially intended as a limited series, season one did well, so the show was renewed by Fox. When the show returned in season two, Jason Patric replaced Matt Dillon as the protagonist, and though the season finale set it up for a season three, the network canceled the M. Night Shyamalan-helmed show.

#23. Dragon Ball (1986-1989)

- Final season IMDb user rating: 7.43- Total seasons: 9

Two friends go on a mission to find seven mythical balls that, with the help of a dragon, can grant wishes in this Japanese animated series. The series lasted nine seasons, but many fans found some of the decisions in the installment following the original disappointing.

#21. Arrested Development (2003-2019) (tie)

- Final season IMDb user rating: 7.40- Total seasons: 5

Fans loved the quirky show about a large and dysfunctional family, though some thought it lost its magic when it moved from Fox to Netflix after three seasons. The final two seasons didnt live up to the first three.

CBS Paramount Network Television

#21. CSI: Miami (2002-2012) (tie)

- Final season IMDb user rating: 7.40- Total seasons: 10

For viewers of the canceled series, the most disappointing ending was no ending at all. The show about a crime scene investigation team in Miami, a spinoff of the original CSI, never had a finale. This upset loyal fans who invested 10 seasons worth of their time.

20th Century Fox Television

#20. The Last Man on Earth (2015-2018)

- Final season IMDb user rating: 7.38- Total seasons: 4

In this Fox show, the last man on Earth tries to find signs of life. It received an 85% on Rotten Tomatoes and had a fan following. When it ended with the season four finale and without a final season, fans were upset.

Original post:
Best TV shows with the worst endings - KAKE

ustin LaReau on Lantern's Lane set.

Sonora, CA It was camera, lights, action this summer in Sonora as a Los Angeles production company shot its entire horror film in Tuolumne County.

Tidal Wave Entertainment Co-Presidents Lydia Cedrone, the films producer, and Justin LaReau, also the director, had not originally picked the county for the location of their slasher film Lanterns Lane, but the shoot was interrupted by COVID-19.

In March, we were on course to shoot in Los Angeles in May. Then COVID-19 hit, says Cedrone. We worked nonstop to develop an alternative plan for this film. We had an obligation to our investors and to ourselves to keep going.

That is when they turned to the internet, adds LaReau, We needed to look outside of LA to shoot, so we researched all over the state. We did pretty much everything via Zoom, including auditions, crew hires, you name it.

Another helpful tool the Tuolumne County Visitors Bureau, Cedrone explains, When scouting the region, my first call was to Lisa Mayo of Visit Tuolumne County. She and Bethany Wilkinson, her Film Liaison, were incredibly helpful to us. Both Justin and I were struck by the countys diverse landscapes and charming towns.

Once the locations were picked, shooting began on July 24th. The sites included a home in the county and a local bar, Steves Place on Tuolumne Road, owned by area local Jan Thomason. The filming wrapped in August. Pictures in the image box show a behind the scene look at the filming in those locations and others.

During the filming, COVID-19 played a starring role as it required the 22-person crew and four cast members to be tested three times a week at a local hospital. All tested negative before leaving Hollywood and heading to Tuolumne County. Also, coronavirus protocols including temperature checks, wearing masks, and gloves were followed during shooting.

One of those actors was Tuolumne County native and Sonora High School graduate, Robbie Allen. The 35-year-old actor currently lives in LA. The movies plot centers around a recent college grad that returns to Lanterns Lane, the site of an evil urban legend and the group must survive the night. Allen plays Braxton, one of the three estranged high school friends, including also includes his former ex-girlfriend who he has not seen in 7 years.

Allen credits include AHCs How We Got Here, Amazon Primes City of Gold and The Silent Natural, and the award-winning short film The Redeemer among several other projects. He is also the Artistic Director of Murphys Creek Theatre in Murphys and The Merely Players Shakespeare Co. in Los Angeles.

Lanterns Lane principle stars are Brooke Butler who has also head roles on Ozark and CSI Crime Scene Investigation and Andy Cohen featured in Greys Anatomy, Ray Donovan, and NCIS. No date is currently set for the release of the movie. Click here for more information about the production company.

Written by Tracey Petersen.

Report breaking news, traffic or weather to our News Hotline 532-6397. Send Mother Lode News Story photos tonews@clarkebroadcasting.com. Sign up for our FREE myMotherLode.com Daily Newsletters by clicking here.

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COVID-19 Forces Film Makers To Seek New Location In Tuolumne County - MyMotherLode.com

A police tent was erected in the back garden of Steven Clark's parents' home as officers continue to investigate his suspected murder.

Cleveland Police turned the attention of the inquiry to the back garden of the Marske property on Friday.

This morning five police cars and vans, a crime scene investigation vehicle and an incident command unit could be seen parked outside the semi-detached house.

A cordon was place across a public footpath that runs down the side of the house on Coast Road in the town. And a police tent could seen in the rear garden.

As reported, detectives from the Cleveland and North Yorkshire Cold Case Unit reopened Steven's case after conducting an investigation into the circumstances of his disappearance.

They believe that Steven has come to serious harm and a murder inquiry has been launched.

Steven's elderly parents - Doris, 81, and Charles Clark, 78 - have confirmed they were arrested on suspicion of murder.

Mrs Clark said: "It's just absolutely ludicrous. There's nothing more to say, it's surreal."

Steven vanished mysteriously on December 28, 1992 in Saltburn.

The 23-year-old was said to have gone into a public toilet while his mother went into the ladies.

He was not seen coming out of the gents and did not return home.

The missing persons report said that Steven was last seen at 3pm on Monday December 28, 1992.

Land searches have been carried out in a bid to find the young man's body.

And detectives have made an appeal to the author of a letter penned in 199 relating to his disappearance.

On September 24 that year, the anonymous handwritten letter was posted to Guisborough Police Station.

Details of what was contained in the letter have not been revealed by those heading the investigation.

However Detective Chief Inspector Shaun Page is appealing for the letter writer to call Crimestoppers anonymously or the investigation team directly and give them any additional information that they may have.

He said: For operational reasons I cant divulge the contents or topic of the letter, but it was sent through the post and addressed to the incident room at Guisborough Police Station.

The person who sent it may know more that could help our inquiry team. They obviously felt compelled to write the letter seven years after his disappearance and I would like to hear from them again now."

Anyone with information can use the Cleveland Police section of the Major Incident Public Portal viahttps://mipp.police.uk/, call Cleveland Police on the non-emergency number 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Read the rest here:
Police tent erected in rear garden of Steven Clark's parents' home as murder inquiry continues - Teesside Live

Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina announced on September 14, 2020 that a 55-year-old Lawnside man was sentenced today to eight years in New Jersey state prison for dumping the body of a woman who had fatally overdosed in his vehicle on the side of a Southampton Township road in late 2018.

The sentence was handed down to Daniel Waterfield in Superior Court by the Hon. Gerard H. Breland, J.S.C. A jury found Waterfield guilty in March 2020 of Desecrating Human Remains (Second Degree). He has been detained in the Burlington County Jail since being convicted.

The investigation revealed that on Halloween night in 2018, Waterfield left the lifeless body of a Paulsboro woman on the berm of Purgatory Road near the intersection with Route 70 in Southampton Township.

Kerri Ann Stetser, 36, who had fatally overdosed hours earlier inside Waterfields pickup truck, was pronounced dead at the scene. She was not carrying identification and was later identified by her fingerprints.

Members of Kerris family spoke in court today, making sure Judge Breland realized that she was a person who was loved, and someone who would never treat anyone the way she was treated by Waterfield.

This case is tragic for so many reasons, and the inhumane actions of this defendant made it even more heartbreaking for Kerris family, Prosecutor Coffina said. Instead of reporting Kerris death, he pulled her from his truck and discarded her on the side of the road. Nobody deserves such heartless treatment, and maybe he will come to that realization during his time in prison.

Charges remain against a co-conspirator who Waterfield contacted for help disposing of Stetsers body. Amanda Seth, 36, of Camden, is presently a fugitive.

The case was investigated by New Jersey State Police detectives from the Troop C Criminal Investigation Office, Crime Scene Investigation Unit, and Homicide South Unit.

Related

Link:
Daniel Waterfield, of Lawnside, Sentenced to 8-Year Prison Term For Dumping Body of Woman Who Fatally Overdosed in His Vehicle - South Jersey Observer

13 August 2020: just a month ago, the large iron ore vessel was on the coral reefs of Mauritius. ... [+] Now it is in pieces with the front section discarded in an unknown location and oil is still along the beaches.

There is something very fishy going on with the oil spill response in Mauritius.

The evidence in a major international crime appears to be disappearing. The oil spill and deliberate sinking of the Japanese owned Wakashio in Mauritius is a crime.Actually, several national and international laws appear to have been broken.

Four Mauritian crew of a Wakashio salvage support vessel, the Sir Gaetan Duval tugboat, are feared dead (three confirmed deaths and the captain still missing).

If evidence in this increasingly wide-ranging investigation is found to have been not handled properly, this could be a very serious offence indeed.

9 Aug 2020: view from the air of the salvage operation around the Wakashio as oil gushes into the ... [+] coral lagoon, just six days before the vessel split in two.

For context, the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius is in the midst of a major oil spill crisis the largest it has ever faced.A state of environmental emergency was declared by the Government when oil started gushing out of a large Japanese bulk carrier, The Wakashio, onto an important 100,000 year old pristine barrier coral reef and into a network of highly protected nature reserves containing some of the worlds rarest creatures.These had been designated nature reserves as they also contained some of the most important sites of historical and cultural importance to Mauritius.

The front half of the 300m long Panama-flagged, Japanese-owned vessel was then controversially sunk on 24 August and within days almost 50 whales and dolphins washed up dead on Mauritius shores, that had already been heavily impacted by the oil spill from 6 August.The island nation was shocked and there have been large and ongoing national protests since then demanding greater transparency and accountability in the oil spill response.The size of these protests are unprecedented for the island nation.

2 Sep 2020: Fishermen from the Bois des Amourettes region employed by Floch Depollution wash the ... [+] jetty in Bois des Amourettes, Mauritius.

Compounding this has been the oil spill cleanup that is being funded by the insurer of the vessel, the Japan P&I Club, as revealed in a series of Government press releases. This oil spill cleanup is being conducted in an even more secretive way than is usual for major oil spills.This is despite the entire eyes of the world being on Mauritius given the high-profile nature of this crash in one of the worlds most famous biodiversity as well as beach holiday destination islands.

The lack of transparency by all parties has been the only consistent and reliable characteristic of this incident.

Restricted areas of Mauritius were significantly expanded on 28 August 2020 compared with the size ... [+] of the area on 6 August.

125 square kilometers and 36km of Mauritius ecologically sensitive coastline is now being cleaned without any independent oversight, aside from Government scientists whose independence has already been challenged over early pronouncements on the whale and dolphin deaths.Despite the highly educated country having all the necessary expertise to handle a major oil spill response, both within the country and among its large and well-educated diaspora population, a large army of international consultants was hired by the insurers of the vessel and deliberately kept these offers of support from Mauritians at a distance.The entire South Eastern coast has now been fenced off and access is being restricted by a large police presence to Mauritian independent scientists, and only the international consultants are allowed into this zone.

The entire handling of the oil spill cleanup is now raising eyebrows that all may not be as it seems.

The dead whales and dolphins being transported by Government vehicles (indicated by the licence ... [+] plates) from the South East Coast

There have been three pivotal moments in the oil spill response already since the vessel split in two on 15 August (three weeks after the initial grounding on 25 July).

Each one of these events alone should have caused a radical pivot in how the oil spill response is being handled.

Instead, press releases by the international organizations involved in Mauritius imply a sense of more of the same, rather than profound shock and reflection at each event.This, in part, explains why there have been such large numbers marching in protest at how the oil spill is being handled and the indifference to the appeals by the Mauritian population.

It is a crisis that could have been avoided by a more accountable and responsible set of national and international actors.

Only Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) and the IMO have publicly issued statements expressing their sorrow for the loss of life on the Sir Gaetan Duval tugboat.In a response to Forbes on 2 September, MOL, said our thoughts and prayers are with those who were affected by the collision between the tug and the barge on the way to Port Louis. The following day in a response to Forbes, a spokesperson for the IMO said We are saddened to hear of the fatalities of people involved in the salvage operation.There is a mandatory casualty investigation process.

17 Aug 2020: the UN regulator, the IMO, has taken a very prominent role in coordinating the heavily ... [+] criticized oil spill response, salvage and rehabilitation efforts in Mauritius.

To date, Forbes has reported on 16 international organizations that have publicly been announced in the country, bringing in at least 79 consultants (from publicly available information).The actual numbers are likely to be significantly higher.These organizations are essentially the whos who of international shipping and maritime insurance, and includes the UN shipping regulator - the International Maritime Organization - who has had an on the ground presence since 12 August, the oil owners organization - ITOPF, the vessel insurer - Japan P&I Club, the salvage team appointed by the vessel insurer Boskalis-owned SMIT salvage, the vessel charterer - Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL).

Despite the presence of some of the most well-respected names in global shipping, even the most basic processes that should have been in place for a major oil spill appear to be missing.The question is why?

24 Aug 2020: The deliberate scuttling of the Wakashio in good weather and calm conditions, has been ... [+] strongly criticized by citizens and international organizations

It is 61 days since the large iron ore vessel plowed straight into Mauritius Eastern Coral Reef, and it appears at several international laws have been broken during the oil spill response phase alone.An initial glance reveals potential breaches of IMOs Marpol Annex V, IMOs Ballast Water Management Convention, IMOs Control of Anti-fouling Systems on Ships, IMOs Hong Kong Convention on the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships, and given the deaths of 49 protected whales and dolphins, this raises questions around breaches to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals or CMS, as well as breaches to the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling under the International Whaling Commission.This was not a small oversight.

There had been multiple offers from well-respected Governments around the world with deep experience in oil spill responses.What happened to these offers of assistance?

Why were those responsible for the oil spill so confident they could handle the situation that such offers of assistance were rebuffed?The results show that the situation has lurched from one catastrophic result to the next.

The story has now moved beyond the initial shock of the oil spill, but to how the oil spill response is being handled and the conduct of the bodies involved.

The Wakashio is fast turning into a business case study of what not to do in a major industrial accident in a far-off land, where there is no real understanding of the context, history or ecology.

Rick Dawson, veteran of over 40 of the biggest oil spills and responsible for overseeing NRDAs and ... [+] clean up operations for the US Department of the Interior.

Rick Dawson, a veteran of 40 of the most high-profile oil spills in the world, spoke to Forbes about what he expects to see following a major oil spill, and what he is observing in Mauritius.His role was to oversee and manage the clean up and Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA).

Rick worked with the US Department of the Interior for four decades, and has been involved in the prosecution of some of the highest profile oil spill cases in the world, such as the Exxon Valdez, Cosco Busan, and the BP Deepwater Horizon.His role was to produce the evidence required in any prosecution of those responsible for any pollution anywhere in US waters, and he was involved in the defining agreement between the US Government and the global shipping insurance companies the P&I Clubs.

He has been closely following the oil spill and response in Mauritius and had the following observations.

26 Aug 2020: a boy touches the carcass of melon-headed whale at the beach in Grand Sable, Mauritius, ... [+] on. At least nine melon-headed whales washed up on the shores of Mauritius on Wednesday.

Rick Dawson: This is the strangest oil cleanup operation I have ever seen.And Ive seen a lot of oil spills over 40 in a career spanning four decades.I dont know what to make of the Wakashio situation in Mauritius.Even the most basic protocols appear to be missing.With the presence of so many international organizations on the ground, I find this puzzling, as there is a standard set of responses that should have just kicked in.

Here are my top five issues that Im having right now with the response.

49 Dead dolphins and whales washed up on Mauritius' coast soon after the oil spill and sinking of ... [+] the Wakashio.

Rick Dawson: There were 49 dead whales and dolphins within three weeks of the Wakashio oil spill.This is deeply troubling.This is not normal.Something went very badly wrong, and it is critical to understand what was the cause of these deaths, the role the oil played in this, and in what way the oil spill response changed at this point.This has environmental and legal implications.In previous oil spills, what causes the death of marine mammals exposed to fuel oil is that they develop a respiratory virus that kills them, in much the same way as Covid-19 is a serious respiratory illness for humans. However, in the Mauritius spill case, the case of mortality is more acute and remains unknown.

Killing a whale without a permit is a violation of both national and international law.In many countries of the world, arrests would already been made for such an event that has broken the law.In Mauritius, 49 protected whales and dolphins have died.This is a crime. There are 49 victims, each one of which needs an investigation.

26 Aug 2020: The coastguard recover the carcass of a dead melon headed whale from the coast of ... [+] Mauritius. This is one of nine that washed up on 26 August alone.

As this is a crime scene, the carcasses of the whales and dolphins should be frozen as evidence so the right specialists can perform independent necropsies, what is essentially an autopsy performed on whales to identify the cause of death.

Where are the 49 whale and dolphin carcasses being kept?How have they been labelled and stored? What security protocols have been put around them? What part of each animal has been taken for the necropsies?Mauritius has industrial scale fishery and aquaculture operations, so freezing and storing these carcasses there should not have been an issue.Even if these are privately owned facilities, when a country is in a state of national emergency, the Government has stronger powers to act.

Islanders were surprised seeing the appearance of so many protected mammals that had been a familiar ... [+] daily sight swimming and jumping out the water at the edge of the coral lagoon.

If this had occurred in the United States, the death of a protected whale or dolphin would be considered a crime under both the Marine Mammals Protection Act (1972) and the Endangered Species Act (1973), among various other international UN laws that protect whales and dolphins.So this would mean that several international laws could also have been broken.

In the US, each incident is punishable with a fine of $25,000 for each violation.It can also include sentencing terms ranging from supervised probation and community service to years in prison.Ive seen both.So for 49 dead whales and dolphins, this means a fine of $1.2 million and potentially many years in prison.Under the definition of the law, knowingly killing a protected species, would include circumstantial evidence such as conscious avoidance and deliberate ignorance of the law.

28 Aug 2020: Mauritian journalist Reuben Pillay used drone footage to identify many more whales and ... [+] dolphins were being transported secretly from the coast.

An officer of the law would have been interviewing both the vessel insurer, the vessel charterer and the vessel owner, under caution to identify which civil or criminal laws had been broken that would warrant the arrest of representatives of either of them.

Having 49 whales or dolphins appear dead so soon after a major oil spill is deeply troubling.It is not normal.The oil spill response should have paused at that point and there should have been a radical reflection and change in the approach at that point.An inquiry will need to find out whether any major changes were taken to the oil spill response at that point, or did things continue with business as usual.

Could the deaths of the whales and dolphins have been avoided or mitigated if universal best practice steps were being followed?

Painting of the famous 1810 Battle of Grand Port between Britain and France showing both the HMS ... [+] Magicienne and HMS Sirius being scuttled by fire in Old Grand Port. This area is now covered by the oil spill.

Rick Dawson: An oil spill clean-up operation is analogous to a doctor treating a patient for an illness or a disease.First, they diagnose the illness or disease by performing tests to determine the area(s) of the body affected then they decide the most efficacious treatment to apply to the disease in the area or organs affected.Any other course of action would be considered reckless.

So, the first thing you do when you arrive on the scene of a major oil spill is to get a map of the entire zone.You take a large marker and start identifying the areas that are significant and may require special attention.

8 Aug 2020: oil from the Wakashio heads into the coral lagoon toward many historic, cultural and ... [+] religious sites along the coast

This is not a closed process but engages the local community who often have the best understanding of local fishing grounds, ecological zones and cultural and historic sites.This should be done in an open way to build trust and ensure everyone is on the same page and no major sites have been missed.This is a critical step.

From there, a cleanup plan should be agreed upon and then embarked on with the oversight of independent scientists and representatives selected by the local community who have to live with the consequence for decades to come.Trying to do this behind closed doors with agencies that have a clear conflict of interest, and with the level of protests being seen in the country would be the equivalent of lighting a match to an already flammable situation. Why would you do that?

An oil spill cleanup operation should be treated like a dermatologist removing moles from your skin.It requires surgical precision and a scalpel.Taking a one-size-fits all approach across the entire region is like burning a mole off your face it will cause permanent scarring.

Mauritius has a range of different coastlines in the region of the oil spill. Seen here is the ... [+] oil-drenched mangroves of Point d'Esny with the famous Lion Mountain in the background.

In Mauritius, I see at least 8 different zones.These include sandy beaches, stone beaches, volcanic rocks, mangrove forests, coral atolls islets, underwater coral reefs, seagrass, historic forts.These cover an area of at least 32km in length and many more square kilometers over the area of the oil spill in the coral lagoon.

I would then have community representatives, independent experts and local fishermen or tourist boat operators, who know the area, to map out every ecological, cultural and historic site along that coast.

We would need to know every species that could possibly be impacted by the oil spill or the response, as well as any sites of cultural or historic importance.Mauritius has areas that have been well studied, so this should not be hard.

The location of the oil spill took place in a region of extreme historic interest.I see there are wrecks from the 1810 Battle of Grand Port.If this was the battle that defined Mauritius and marked when Mauritius changed hands from the French to British, this is significant.It is also featured on the Arc de Triomphe.Your previous articles talked about the 137 sailors that died in the lagoon during the 1810 battle.So, we are now talking about war graves that could have been disturbed.Before any cleaning operation begins, there needs to be a survey commissioned to understand the state of these wrecks, before any further damage is caused.

Battle of Grand Port (1810). The battle between British and French ships defined Mauritius and is ... [+] featured on the Arc de Triomphe. It is in this location that the Wakashio split its heavy engine fuel oil

If this was to have happened in the United States, there is the US National Historical Preservation Act that covers buildings and monuments, as well as the Archaeological Resources Protection Act, for many of the deep historical sites that are still being uncovered.Any damage to a historic monument or archaeological site is a criminal offence with very strict penalties.

400 year old historic remains of Dutch settlement in Vieux Grand Port, Mauritius, that has been ... [+] carefully preserved as part of the Dutch history of Mauritius. This region has been impacted by the oil spill.

The costs of these surveys should immediately be covered by the insurer.It is in their interest to immediately have an accurate sense of the state of these wrecks and historic sites.Mauritius should be free to choose which independent set of experts it uses to carefully evaluate the state of these wrecks following the oil spill, and it is the insurer who pays.

I dont know about Mauritian Law, but Im sure you must have laws that protect such historic sites from any willful damage.This is a crime scene and needs to be treated as such.Someone is accountable for what happened here.

Dutch explorers at Dutch Landing after landing on the Island of Mauritius in 1598. In the sketch of ... [+] the site of Dutch Landing, that has been impacted by the oil spill, Dutch sailors can be seen exploring, hunting and taking a turtle-back ride.

Now once you have a complete picture of what were dealing with, only then can we commence the cleanup operation.This way, we make sure that the cleanup operation itself does not cause more harm than the initial oil spill.Not conducting any of these baseline impact surveys ahead of time, knowing the oil spill happened in an area of significant national and international historical importance could be considered negligence.

Weve seen this happen in many places all of the world, and always hear the same three excuses it wasnt damage caused by us, it wasnt much oil, the oil is not that bad.

1848 drawing showing Dutch Admiral Jacob Cornelissoon van Necks expedition which landed on Dutch ... [+] Landing in Mauritius in 1598. The dodo (possibly from the Dutch 'dodoor' meaning sluggard) and solitaire were hunted to extinction by Europeans and the domestic pets they introduced. These flightless birds were related to the pigeon and were native to Mauritius and islands to the east of Madagascar.

I gave you an overview in a previous interview on how we would think about cleaning each zone, with due care taken around each zone.You certainly would not be using high pressure sprays on some of these sites of historic and cultural importance that risks causing further damage.

Again, all of this would have been addressed with the right, independent, sensitivity map of the area. It is not too late, but this sort of sensitivity map needs to be built, and has to be done in a transparent way with all the community engaged on this mapping.

There is a 16 page technical information page on the ITOPF website (TIP14) that gives a step by step ... [+] guide on how to sample and fingerprint oil. With two representatives in Mauritius, what happened to the fingerprinting?

Rick Dawson: Oil has a unique chemical signature.It is essentially like DNA and is used to fingerprint which source the oil has come from.When oil mixes in an engine, it forms a unique chemical signature (due to the peculiarities of each source).This means oil in every oil spill is unique and traceable to this source. So, for the 60,000 ocean going vessels in the world, we know exactly which oil belongs to which ship.

It is absolutely critical to collect many oil samples early.The reason it is so important is that it can allow scientists to immediately identify the type of oil we are dealing with and understand how it may behave in the ocean.Every oil is different and made up of a cocktail of different chemicals that are toxic in their own way to marine life and human health.An oil fingerprint is the most critical first step in any major oil spill response.It determines every aspect of the scientific assessment of impact, cleanup and rehabilitation efforts.

ITOPF guidance from TIP14 shows sampling locations into the ocean for the 1996 spill from the Sea ... [+] Empress. Why was the sample recommendations not made in Mauritius?

Not doing this is the equivalent of a doctor trying to perform a surgery without having secured a patients blood type.It is that foundational to any oil spill response.

If such oil fingerprinting has not been undertaken in the early days of the oil spill, some very serious questions will start to be asked, given the presence of so many international organizations on the ground who had been advising on the oil spill response and who have deep experience of this.

The ITOPF technical paper even goes down to the specific details of what sort of jar (glass with ... [+] wide mouth) is needed for sampling.

What we usually test for is the fate and effect of the oil.Let me explain why this is important.

By fate, this means understanding the chemical composition of the oil, and how it starts to change when it interacts with ocean water.Oil immediately starts changing the moment it hits the ocean.It is affected by the water temperature, sunlight (both the heat and ultra-violet rays, which each have different effects), the bio-availability (i.e., how much oil an chemicals smaller creatures can absorb), bio-concentration (the toxins that are building up along the food chain), oil particle size.In every major oil spill, the oil is usually taken apart molecule by molecule in the very early days.It is a full-scale crime scene investigation similar to the famous TV show CSI.A crime has taken place in Mauritius, and the evidence needs to be handled as such.

By effect, this means understanding how the oil changes over time.All the samples will need to be taken every day at the same locations to study and understand how oil changes over time.Wave action, sunlight, ocean currents all change the particle size of the oil.By changing the particle size, the chemistry of the oil changes, and so too does the toxicity.

The ITOPF TIP14 paper even shows how oil should be extracted for sampling using a separation funnel. ... [+] Why was this not publicly mentioned in Mauritius?

In terms of scale of the sampling, this is huge.I would expect at least a sample of a jar of oil from every kilometer of coastline, and additional samples around every different environmental landscape that has been identified (e.g., corals, mangroves, beaches, seagrass etc).I would also be expecting these samples to be collected daily.

I would also have expected samples to have been collected directly from the vessel as well as the bunker vessels that transported the oil off the Wakashio.These have clearly been identified.

By now, Mauritius should have had hundreds if not thousands of samples that have been correctly kept, labelled and securely watched in a large warehouse somewhere.This sampling is something that will have to continue for the weeks and months to come.

Every oil has a unique 'fingerprint' as seen here. This can quickly be identified using a ... [+] chromatogram (GC-MS) seen here. This analysis can be completed within an hour and should be conducted for all oils on board.

Sampling is not controversial or complex.It is very simple and the analysis can be conducted within an hour.At the very most, a sample may need to be flown to a laboratory that has a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS).But that is at most a 24-hour delay.It has been 52 days since the grounding of the Wakashio.

There are clear guidelines and manuals on sampling written and published on the ITOPF website it is easily found and called TIP14: Sampling and monitoring of marine oil spills.These are all standard playbooks.There is a representative of the ITOPF on the ground in Mauritius, so it should not be hard to have organized and set up best practices around oil spill sampling.These things normally happen within days of a major oil spill, so it is almost unheard of to go weeks without any large-scale sample collection and oil fingerprinting taking place.

3 May 2010: EPA scientists collecting baseline samples as part of BP Deepwater Horizon response. ... [+] Why did this not happen in the case of Mauritius?

There are a series of other international organizations on the ground such as the IMO and the insurer, the Japan P&I Club, all of whom understand how oil sampling and fingerprinting works.

Most seriously, the International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation (ITOPF), whose motto says promoting effective spill response on its logo has two representatives on the ground in Mauritius. There are 17 technical guides listed on the ITOPF website to address all aspects of an oil spill. There is even a Technical Information Paper (TIP14) that is solely focused on how to sample and fingerprint oil.

So what happened to all the samples and fingerprinting of the Wakashio oil that the ITOPF says is best practice? When did ITOPF issue its recommendation as part of the daily National Crisis Committee meetings? [ITOPF have been contacted for a comment but have not yet responded.]

There would be a lot of international scrutiny if this advice was not being given formally to Mauritius, given the significant legal implications of withholding such advice.

The increase in algae in Blue Bay Marine Park on 5 September has raised suspicions around about the ... [+] oil from the oil spill or any chemicals used in the cleanup operation.

Rick Dawson: Oil contains a lot of bad stuff inside.When it gets into the ocean environment, it starts to change in toxicity.There are many ways how this toxicity changes, but one important pathway is the reduction of particle size that makes it easier to be digested by smaller creatures.

That is why it is not simply a question of just spraying the oil off the coast with water, chemicals, soap or low grade detergent, as this could often cause even more serious long term damage.We have learnt this from many oil spills around the world and every major oil response organization is aware of this.Thirty years after the Exxon Valdez in Alaska, there are many serious environmental consequences from both the oil spill and the way the cleanup operation was handled.

Phosphate that is commonly found in fertilizers can be extremely toxic for coral reefs by ... [+] stimulating harmful algae blooms. Image: organic fertilizers bone meal pellets and rock phosphate before planting crops.

We need to know how the oil is changing and what the chemistry is doing, so we can stay ahead of the destruction this oil may be unleashing on the environment.

There are at least four chemical test results I would expect to receive fairly early on, and to have this regularly reported on in different parts of the spill location.Those are the levels of 1. Carbon, 2. Nitrogen, 3. Phosphates, 4. Heavy metals.

See more here:
Five Glaring Issues With The Oil Spill Response In Mauritius Today - Forbes