TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - BIOTECHNOLOGY - Preferred Bacterial Inoculum: The bacterial inoculum comprises bacterial strains above. It comprises the bacterial strains having 16S rRNA sequences of SEQ ID NO. 1-4. The inoculum is provided in liquid or powder. Preferred Method: Degrading hydrocarbons in salt water comprises providing a bacterial inoculum comprising at least one bacterial isolate having a 16S rRNA sequence selected from SEQ ID NO. 1-4, a variant having at least 99.5% sequence identity, or its mixtures; and contacting the hydrocarbons with the bacterial inoculum under conditions to disperse the hydrocarbon. It also comprises adding a source of nitrogen and a source of phosphorus. The method further comprises adding an oxygen source. The bacterial inoculum comprises four bacterial isolates having 16S rRNA sequences of SEQ ID NO. 1-4 and variants having at least 99.5% sequence identity. The hydrocarbons are selected from soluble or insoluble hydrocarbons. The insoluble hydrocarbons are selected from crude petroleum or refined petroleum. The hydrocarbon contaminated seawater is selected from bilge water, ballast water, or drainage water. The hydrocarbons are degraded to a final hydrocarbon concentration of less than 50 ppm. Preferably, the final hydrocarbon concentration is equal to or less than 10 ppm. The method is carried out at a temperature of 10-35degreesC. Degradation of hydrocarbons on hydrocarbon contaminated surfaces comprises exposing the hydrocarbon contaminated surface to salt water; and contacting the hydrocarbon-surface with a bacterial inoculum, the bacterial inoculum comprising at least one bacterial isolate having a 16S rRNA sequence selected from SEQ ID NO. 1-4 under conditions to degrade the hydrocarbons. The surface is selected from a cargo tank, a slop tank, or a coastal tank. The tank is filled to 5-50% volume capacity. The method further comprises circulating the salt water in the tank. The circulating the salt water containing the bacteria comprises circulation by means of a spraying mechanism, where the spraying mechanism comprises a rotary sprayer. SPECIFIC MICROORGANISMS - Specifically claimed are bacterial strains having 16S rRNA polynucleotide. The bacterial strains are from Idiomarina genus (strain no. ASH1, SEQ ID NO. 1), Rhodobacteriacea genus (strain no. ASH2, SEQ ID NO. 2), Alteromonas genus (strain no. OK1, SEQ ID NO. 3), and Alcanivorax genus (strain no. ASH4, SEQ ID NO. 4).    EXAMPLE - 100 ml the fresh seawater was mixed with 100 ml drainage water containing 180 ppm total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH). To the 200 ml mixture in a 1-liter flask 10 mg urea and 5 mg K2HPO4 were added. The enrichment medium flask was aerated by shaking at 150 rpm at 25degreesC for 4 days. The liquid that initially appeared brown turned colorless after 3 days. Microscopic observation indicated that the 4 day culture contained 3x107 bacteria per ml. The culture was diluted 1:105 in sterile seawater and 0.1 ml spread on seawater agar. The Petri dish was inverted and 0.1 ml crude oil placed on the lid. After incubation for 5 days at 25degreesC, colonies were picked, re-streaked on seawater agar, and tested for their ability to grow on the crude oil/seawater enrichment medium. The four most abundant strains that grew well on the enrichment as pure cultures were ASH1 (SEQ ID NO. 1), ASH2 (SEQ ID NO. 2), OK1 (SEQ ID NO. 3), and ASH4 (SEQ ID NO. 4).