Industry arrangements for oil spill preparedness

2012 ◽  
Vol 52 (2) ◽  
pp. 681
Author(s):  
Nick Quinn

In the post-Montara/Macondo world, the Australian petroleum industry has been actively represented on various working groups focused on the prevention, preparedness and response to significant oil spill incidents. Through the Australian Marine Oil Spill Centre (AMOSC) based in Geelong, Victoria, cooperation and coordination with other international associations has been occurring to ensure ‘reasonable steps’ are taken to develop preparedness and response arrangements commensurate with the risks associated with industry activities.Concurrently and here in Australia, a thorough review of the National Plan has allowed industry to work with government to develop or amend a range of initiatives aimed at ensuring that industry and government strategies are integrated for maximum efficiency in all circumstances. The scene has been set by a reviewed national risk assessment focusing on all activities of hydrocarbon movement around the Australian coastline. So what has Australian industry actually achieved post-Montara in prevention, preparedness and response to oil spills? This extended abstract shares and explains the practical outcomes of the industry initiatives of oil spills in Australia. The outcomes are planning requirements, equipment location, mutual aid arrangements, training programs and the extended services of industry oil spill response organisations in Australia and overseas.

1995 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 830
Author(s):  
D.J. Blackmore

It is vital that there is a credible and well organised arrangement to deal with oil spills in Australia.The National Plan to Combat Pollution of the Sea by Oil, the umbrella oil spill response plan for Australia, is a combined effort by the Commonwealth and State Governments, the oil industry and the shipping industry.The Australian Marine Oil Spill Centre (AMOSC), formed in 1991, is an industry centre set up for rapid response with equipment and resources, together with a training and industry coordination role.A review of the National Plan in 1992, identified, amongst a number of issues, that the National Plan needed to be re-focussed, to ensure full integration of all government and industry activities for the first time. This has led to greatly improved understanding between government and industry and significant improvements to Australia's oil spill response preparedness. The National Plan review has also resulted in a clearer definition of the responsibilities for operational control, together with the organisational structure to deliver a successful response.The current state of Australia's National Plan is such that it does provide confidence that there is the capacity to deliver an effective response to oil spills in the marine environment. Nevertheless, there is more to be done, particularly in the areas of planning and exercises.


2001 ◽  
Vol 2001 (2) ◽  
pp. 987-990
Author(s):  
Kristy Plourde ◽  
Jean R. Cameron ◽  
Vickie Huyck

ABSTRACT The original oil spill Field Operations Guide (FOG) was a product of the Standard Oil Spill Response Management System (STORMS) Task Force comprised of representatives of the U. S. Coast Guard, California Department of Fish and Game Office of Spill Prevention and Response (OSPR), other states, the petroleum industry, oil spill response organizations, and local government. The STORMS Task Force produced this first version of the “oilized” Incident Command System (ICS) FOG and Incident Action Plan (IAP) forms in 1994 and made subsequent revisions in 1995 and 1996. With 2 more years of ICS experience and facilitated by the States/British Columbia Oil Spill Task Force, a new group of representatives from federal and state governments, the petroleum industry, and oil spill response professionals met to review and update the 1996 FOG and IAP forms in October 1998. The overall goal was to remain consistent with the National Interagency Incident Management System (NIIMS) yet reflect the experience gained using ICS at actual oil spills and drills. The group met quarterly over an 18-month period, working collaboratively to reach a consensus on numerous changes. Some of the changes included adding an Environmental Unit to the Planning Section, revising the planning cycle diagram for the oil spill IAP process, and revising the IAP forms as appropriate to reflect the way oil spills are managed. All significant revisions/improvements will be highlighted in this paper and poster.


Author(s):  
Alexander Ermolov ◽  
Alexander Ermolov

International experience of oil spill response in the sea defines the priority of coastal protection and the need to identify as most valuable in ecological terms and the most vulnerable areas. Methodological approaches to the assessing the vulnerability of Arctic coasts to oil spills based on international systems of Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) and geomorphological zoning are considered in the article. The comprehensive environmental and geomorphological approach allowed us to form the morphodynamic basis for the classification of seacoasts and try to adapt the international system of indexes to the shores of the Kara Sea taking into account the specific natural conditions. This work has improved the expert assessments of the vulnerability and resilience of the seacoasts.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 6585
Author(s):  
Mihhail Fetissov ◽  
Robert Aps ◽  
Floris Goerlandt ◽  
Holger Jänes ◽  
Jonne Kotta ◽  
...  

The Baltic Sea is a unique and sensitive brackish-water ecosystem vulnerable to damage from shipping activities. Despite high levels of maritime safety in the area, there is a continued risk of oil spills and associated harmful environmental impacts. Achieving common situational awareness between oil spill response decision makers and other actors, such as merchant vessel and Vessel Traffic Service center operators, is an important step to minimizing detrimental effects. This paper presents the Next-Generation Smart Response Web (NG-SRW), a web-based application to aid decision making concerning oil spill response. This tool aims to provide, dynamically and interactively, relevant information on oil spills. By integrating the analysis and visualization of dynamic spill features with the sensitivity of environmental elements and value of human uses, the benefits of potential response actions can be compared, helping to develop an appropriate response strategy. The oil spill process simulation enables the response authorities to judge better the complexity and dynamic behavior of the systems and processes behind the potential environmental impact assessment and thereby better control the oil combat action.


1993 ◽  
Vol 1993 (1) ◽  
pp. 127-133
Author(s):  
Mac W. McCarthy ◽  
John McGrath

ABSTRACT On July 22, 1991, the Tuo Hai, a 46,500 ton Chinese grain carrier, collided with the Tenyo Maru, a 4,800 ton Japanese fish processing ship, off the coast of Washington State. The Tenyo Maru sank, creating an oil spill that cost upwards of $4 million (U.S.) to clean up. The incident initiated a joint response from the U.S. and Canadian governments. As part of this response, the Canadian Coast Guard mobilized an SRN-6 hovercraft. This air cushioned vehicle (ACV) provided logistical support to responders on both sides of the international boundary. The response operation along the Pacific Coast was extensive. Dense fog and the remote location of the impacted area provided formidable challenges to the cleanup effort. It was the mission scenario of the Canadian SRN-6 hovercraft to provide logistical support—as an experiment in ACV utility—to the organizations responding to this incident. Based on this experience, it can be argued that the hovercraft offers great potential value in responding to marine oil spills. Appropriate application of ACV technology can enhance oil spill response work, spill waste management, and incident surveillance. This paper discusses the contribution of the SRN-6 hovercraft to the Tenyo Maru response, briefly examines the use of another, very different hovercraft, during a response in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and reviews a new hovercraft design and discusses its potential contributions.


1995 ◽  
Vol 1995 (1) ◽  
pp. 503-508
Author(s):  
Hussein Bin Rahmat ◽  
Mohd Radzuan Bin Yusof

ABSTRACT The increasing incidence of oil spills in the Strait of Malacca and the South China Sea has resulted in growing concern about Malaysia's capability to respond to oil spills in its waters. This concern is compounded by the ever-growing number of oil tankers plying the Strait of Malacca and the South China Sea, as well as the intensifying exploration and development of offshore petroleum resources. Various measures were taken by the government to deal with the problem, including a review of its National Oil Spill Contingency Plan (NOSCP) and incorporating a coordinated and a cost-effective response mechanism among the various government agencies. The incorporation of the Petroleum Industry of Malaysia Mutual Aid Group (PIMMAG), which enables the oil industry to pool its oil spill response resources, reflects the industry's commitment to strengthen the NOSCP. Since the mid 1970s, a number of regional plans have been instituted including the Traffic Separation Scheme for the Strait of Malacca, the Strait of Malacca and Singapore Revolving Fund, the Lombok-Macassar Oil Spill Contingency Plan, the Brunei Bay Oil Spill Contingency Plan, the ASEAN Oil Spill Response Plan, and the proposed ASCOPE Oil Spill Contingency Plan.


1991 ◽  
Vol 1991 (1) ◽  
pp. 673-676
Author(s):  
Edward Tennyson

ABSTRACT Recent large oil spills from tankers have reaffirmed the need for continuing technology assessment and research to improve oil-spill response capabilities. The Minerals Management Service (MMS) remains a lead agency in conducting these studies. This paper discusses MMS concerns, as reinforced by the acceleration of its research program in 1990. It briefly assesses the current state-of-the-art technology for major aspects of spill response, including remote sensing, open-ocean containment, recovery, in-situ burning, chemical treating agents, beach-line cleanup, and oil behavior. The paper reports on specific research projects that have begun to yield information that will improve detection and at-sea equipment performance. The first detection project, for which MMS has patent pending, involves the use of shipboard navigational radar to track slicks at relatively long range. The second project involves the use of conventional containment and cleanup in a downwind mode, which is contrary to the traditional procedures. The paper also discusses current research projects, including the development of an airborne, laser-assisted fluorosensor that can determine whether apparent slicks contain oil. Additional projects involve the development of improved strategies for responding to oil in broken-ice conditions, for gaining an improved understanding of the fate and behavior of spilled oil as it affects response strategies, and for reopening and operating the oil and hazardous materials simulated environmental test tank (OHMSETT) facility in Leonardo, New Jersey. Recent progress on the development of safe and environmentally acceptable strategies to burn spilled oil in-situ is also discussed. The OHMSETT facility is necessary for testing prospective improvements in chemical treating agents and to develop standard procedures for testing and evaluating response equipment.


1991 ◽  
Vol 1991 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-5
Author(s):  
O. Khalimonov ◽  
S. Nunuparov

ABSTRACT International and domestic experience in the response to major oil spills at sea confirms the vital necessity of a national contingency plan to guarantee effective utilization of national resources and those of assisting countries and organizations. Experience in responding to recent major oil spills underlines deficiencies connected with the shortage of technical means and also with ineffective organization of the response and cooperation of all parties involved. This results in unjustifiable delays in decision making and, finally, in catastrophic damages to the environment. The main principles of the U.S.S.R. national oil spill response plan, currently under consideration for approval, are as follows:involvement of a wide range of national forces and forces of the neighboring countries under preliminary agreed-upon schemes;strengthening and development of appropriate legal instruments to stipulate obligations of the parties involved in pollution response operations;development of a mechanism to reduce impediments to financial, technical, and related agreements required prior to commencement of operations (sources of finances, preliminary approval of the response technology by competent authorities, facilitation of custom procedures);unification of the structure of the U.S.S.R national contingency plan with a view to making it compatible with corresponding plans of neighboring countries following the prototype developed by the International Maritime Organization (IMO);cooperation in the establishment of the international monitoring system, data bank, and computerized exchange of information.


2008 ◽  
Vol 2008 (1) ◽  
pp. 1093-1095
Author(s):  
Bernie Bennett ◽  
Yvette Osikilo

ABSTRACT The International Petroleum Industry Environmental Conservation Association (IPIECA) Oil Spill Working Group (OSWG) is celebrating its 20th anniversary. Its mission has been, through education, training and awareness initiatives, to enhance the state of preparedness and response to marine oil spill incidents in priority coastal locations around the world. Its programme is carried out in close cooperation with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and operates within the context of the International Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Cooperation (OPRC), 1990. The OSWG is made up of oil spill managers and specialists from IPIECA member companies and associations, supported by invited representatives from other organisations in the oil spill response community. It aims to ensure that the full range of industry interests is adequately reflected in its work programme. Coordination between these industry-based organisations and the IMO remains an essential ingredient in the success of the OSWG programme This paper reviews the main activities and achievements of the IPIECA OSWG over the last 20 years and attempt to illustrate and measure the impact of its work on global oil spill preparedness. We then hypothesize as to how the work of the IPIECA OSWG might develop over the next 20 years, which could serve as future strategic/planning guidance.


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