Oil Spill Response Organizations Research Articles

SHIP ESCORT RESPONSE VESSEL SYSTEM (SERVS) FISHING VESSEL OIL SPILL RESPONSE TRAINING

ABSTRACT During the Exxon Valdez oil spill cleanup it became obvious that fishing vessels were a valuable asset. Their value was recognized by the Ship Escort Response Vessel System (SERVS), and they have become an integral part of the SERVS response capability. SERVS is a world leader in oil spill prevention and response and is charged with meeting the requirements of the Prince William Sound Tanker Oil Discharge Prevention and Response Plan. The Prince William Sound response plan and the Nearshore Response Plan both require a trained group of oil spill technicians to operate a fleet of small boats. Fishing vessels and their crews are in an ideal position to fulfill this function. SERVS and Prince William Sound Community College (PWSCC) are in the third year of a fishing vessel crew training program. Prince William Sound Community College, as part of the University of Alaska system, has developed a partnership with SERVS that included the codevelopment of a fishing vessel training program. The three major goals of this training are to teach vessel crews to safely operate the equipment they will employ to contain and clean up a spill, to provide general health and safety training, and to give participants an insight into their responsibilities within the SERVS oil spill response organization. The first year provides basic instruction. Each subsequent year reviews the first year and presents new material on equipment operation. The classes are structured to include both classroom and on-water training utilizing the fishing vessels.

DEVELOPMENT AND TRAINING OF A FACILITY OIL RESPONSE TEAM

ABSTRACT Over the course of fifteen years, Tosco's Avon Refinery has developed a highly successful oil spill response organization. Three approaches were evaluated: use of management personnel without in-house training, use of management personnel with in-house training, and all-volunteer personnel with in-house training. The all-volunteer approach has been the most effective, based on continuing evaluations. This approach has been flexible and has been upgraded to meet the needs of changing response criteria. Benefits of the all-volunteer approach include a high rate of participation and consistency, rapid response, familiarity with the facility, knowledge of local sensitive resources, and training in local conditions. Difficulties associated with the approach include conflicts with normal duties, ongoing training costs, and training for shift workers. Costs associated with the approach include equipment purchase, equipment maintenance, supplies, training and drills, and management costs. Equipment was carefully selected to meet the specific characteristics of the environment surrounding the refinery. Performance standards were developed to provide training criteria in specific areas (such as boat operations, boom deployment, and navigation). Completion of all performance standards leads to personnel certification and response status.

Managing the Design and Implementation of Computerized Resource Information Systems for Oil Spill Response Cooperatives

ABSTRACTDesigning and implementing a computerized information management system presents many challenging issues. As federal regulations mandate more stringent management and maintenance tracking of oil spill response resources, response cooperatives need to develop methods to efficiently and cost-effectively produce required information. The decision to computerize spill response information resources is not an easy one to make. The project requires significant commitment from personnel within the organization and perhaps outside consulting services, as the company thereby incurs costs in dollars and man-hours. These commitments of financial and human resources represent a significant investment, and cooperatives need some assurance that the resulting system will be effective and reliable. A framework is presented here that will help oil spill response organizations use computers to manage their information resources.

Airborne Detection of Winter Oil Spills—A Presentation of the Swedish Coast Guard's Build-Up of Response Resources and Operational Manuals

ABSTRACT A substantial part of the total transport in Swedish waters takes place during wintertime. Ice, darkness, and rough weather increase the risk of accidental spills and reduce the possibilities of detecting deliberate spills. These factors stress the importance of forming an oil spill response organization, also effective in operations in wintertime. The Swedish Coast Guard, which is responsible for spill recovery operations in Swedish waters, has initiated a number of projects due to the build-up of effective spill response resources for winter spills. Spill recovery operations in Swedish ice-free waters are performed effectively by airborne detection support, built up by the Swedish Space Corporation. Airborne detection techniques of oil in ice-covered waters are now studied in order to define ice and oil spill conditions that offer opportunities for successful detection operations. Developing manuals containing spill response strategies and operational tools requires combining knowledge concerning oil properties in cold water, oil and ice behavior, and ice conditions with resources such as weather forecasting, drift models, and strike forces. A manual, primarily aimed at rescue commanders and the Coast Guard OSCs for operations in winter spills, is set up, based on these combined disciplines and the best use of available tools. The progress of the work will be presented as well as a version of the spill detection manual for operations in ice conditions. A suggested oil properties classification code for winter spills is also included as a part of this project.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF A CANADIAN OIL SPILL TRAINING PROGRAM

ABSTRACT A comprhensive program has been developed to train industry personnel in Canada who have marine oil spill countermeasures responsibilities. Four distinct phases were involved in the design of the program: first, in-depth interviews with oil company environmentalists and managers and analyses of company oil spill contingency plans were conducted to identify the exact training needs of the industry; second, a detailed evaluation was performed of the numerous existing courses available in Canada and internationally in order to identify which courses could satisfy the training requirements identified in the first phase; third, a curriculum for the program was developed as were recommendations on program implementation, course delivery, and certification processes; and finally, specific courses were designed to fill the deficiencies of existing courses or to satisfy the unique requirements specific to the Canadian environment. The end result is a program comprising 12 training modules, combinations of which serve to train the five category positions in any company's oil spill response organization.

MARINE INDUSTRY GROUP (MIRG)

ABSTRACT Eleven companies involved in the marine transportation of petroleum in the Gulf of Mexico have established the Marine Industry Group (MIRG). MIRG is not an oil spill response organization, nor an oil spill cooperative. Rather, it is a group with the primary purpose of enhancing oil spill response capability in the Gulf of Mexico. Toward this end, MIRG has funded two oil spill contingency planning information projects which will:Identify the location of specific cleanup equipment and resources and provide information concerning the logistical requirements to deploy such equipmentProvide a survey which will identify and give information on the economically and ecologically sensitive areas in the Gulf of Mexico Both projects use available data and organize it into a format which can be useful for the broad area of interest where marine transporters operate. This paper describes the organization and objectives of MIRG, defines the area of interest, describes the resources and logistics and the environmental survey projects, and outlines other activities of the group. The resources and logistics project is discussed at length. The method of assembling the resource information, the verification process, and the updating methods are discussed. The use of this resource data is demonstrated for a hypothetical oil spill scenario.

ABSORB: A THREE YEAR UPDATE IN ARCTIC SPILL RESPONSE

ABSTRACT In 1979 the petroleum industry formed an oil spill response organization called the Alaskan Beaufort Sea Oilspill Response Body (ABSORB). This group's purpose is to help participating oil companies provide an integrated capability to deal with the possibility of a major oil spill in the Alaskan Beaufort Sea. ABSORB and its member companies have maintained a high priority on increasing the state-of-the-art capabilities for effective response during the solid ice season, as reported in earlier conferences. In addition they have worked to identify and fill the data gaps for all season response capabilities. The ongoing research and development engineering projects have complemented this goal, along with the ongoing efforts of the ABSORB staff and member company technical representatives in the areas of equipment selection, purchase, modification and training. This paper briefly reviews the status of ABSORB today in terms of its organization and staffing, facilities and equipment, contingency planning, research and development (R & D), training programs, and response techniques.11,9