Emergency Operations Center News

The Port of New Orleans was awarded $947,280 in recently announced Port Security Grant funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to support the expansion and enhancement of emergency services for Port NOLA’s maritime and industrial operations.With this funding award, Port NOLA will invest in physical and technological upgrades to the Port’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) which serves as home base during hurricanes and other significant incidents. Additionally…

The Unified Command discussed plans to remove diesel fuel from the fishing vessel Sea Angels at the Onslow County Emergency Operations Center, Tuesday. The fishing vessel Sea Angels ran aground near Browns Inlet, North Carolina on Dec. 9, 2019.The Unified Command has identified safety of personnel responding to the grounding and the protection of the environment as the top priorities for the on-going response efforts. The response is complicated by the presence of unexploded ordnance in the area surrounding the vessel…

Coast Guard Hurricane Dorian response operations are underway in support of the Bahamas.As of Wednesday at 1000 hours:Coast Guard crews from across the Coast Guard have rescued 61 people and rescued four pets in the Bahamas since Hurricane Dorian began.The Coast Guard is currently conducting air operations based out of Andros Island, Bahamas. Other aspects f the USCG response are as follows:Port Condition Zulu is set for the Port of Palm BeachPort Condition Four for the Ports of Fort Pierce…

Florida's governor on Friday urged residents in the state to stock up on at least a week's worth of food, water and medicine and to prepare to lose power and cellphone service for days after Hurricane Dorian makes landfall early next week.The slow march and rising intensity of the storm, which is moving in a northwestern direction to the Bahamas, has alarmed forecasters who worry parts of Florida will be walloped by strong winds, a storm surge and heavy rain for an extended period."I think there’s a pretty high degree of certainty that this is going to be a major hurricane…

Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Southeast is forming Contingency Engineering Response Teams (CERTs) in preparation of any damage to Naval facilities in the path of Hurricane Irma. "Teams returned last week from Naval Air Station (NAS) Kingsville and NAS Corpus Christi after performing damage assessments after Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Texas," said Integrated Product Team Gulf Coast Assistant Operations Officer Cmdr. Anant Patel who is the CERT officer in charge. Just one week later, Patel is preparing several CERTs to be prepared after Hurricane Irma passes through Florida and moves up the east coast of the United States. "We need to be ready to move out early next week depending on where there may be damage on naval installations," said Patel.

A shelter-in-place was lifted and the Houston Ship Channel was reopened at 2:08 p.m. Wednesday, after an incident in the upper ship channel that caused the release of as much as 23,000 gallons of naphtha (PTN). The Coast Guard, Texas General Land Office, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and other agencies and responders are working together to ensure the safety of people in the area, responders and to minimize any impact to the environment if possible. "Upon consultation with the NOAA support coordinator, their models showed that most of the product would evaporate in approximately three hours," said Cmdr. Eric Carrero, the federal on-scene coordinator for the Coast Guard.

On June 15, 2014 there was a serious accident at Achinsk oil refinery. Unfortunately, as a result, people died and some were injured. President and all Company’s staff send their condolences to the victims’ relatives. An Emergency Operations Center headed by Rosneft Vice-president is working at the scene of the accident. We elaborated a Plan on rectification of the consequences of the accident and full recovery with bringing operation facilities at the level of capacity, corresponding with pre-fault values of the plant. The situation is under individual control of Rosneft President Igor Sechin. All the employees injured in the course of the accident get necessary medical assistance to the full extent…

Last month Oil Spill Response Limited (OSRL), a global oil spill response cooperative funded by more than 160 companies, opened its new base with enhanced response capabilities at Loyang in Singapore. Maritime Reporter took the opportunity to speak with Robert Limb, OSRL Chief Executive, regarding the significance of OSRL’s expansion. The opening of the base last month in Singapore was touted as a milestone event for the maritime and oil and gas industries in the Asia Pacific region…

Across the globe, populated islands and the desire of their inhabitants to travel elsewhere has led to a need for reliable waterborne transportation. Nowhere is an organized water transportation system more highly utilized than in the shared waters of Washington State and British Columbia. The international border zigzags around the Gulf Islands of Canada and the San Juan Islands of the US. Ferry traffic from the US and Canada traveling to these islands cross each other’s watery borders daily.

Paul C. Jensen, CEO of HALO Maritime Defense Systems (HMDS), announced the appointment of Captain Brendan Gray USN (ret) as President. Gray, a graduate of the US Naval Academy, served with distinction for thirty years as a Naval Aviator, spending his last five years as the Deputy Commander and Chief Operating Officer for Navy Region Europe. Captain Gray was responsible for the day-to-day operations, security, and force protection of nine Navy bases across five countries in Europe, including the operation of seven ports and six airfields.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano announced the release of fiscal year 2010 grant application guidance kits for 13 DHS grant programs totaling more than $2.7b—funds for state, local, tribal and territorial governments and private sector entities to strengthen our nation’s ability to prevent, protect, respond to and recover from terrorist attacks, major disasters and other emergencies. “These grants play a major role in our efforts to work with our state, local, tribal and territorial and private sector partners to build a national culture of readiness and resilience,” said Secretary Napolitano. The grant program guidance kits announced also incorporate the input of DHS’ state…

April 8, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) announced that Washington state ports will receive $30.3m for port security efforts across the state this year. The funds, which will now begin to be distributed to state ports, will go toward infrastructure security improvements including chemical detectors, cameras, security gates, access controls, and training and exercises. “As we work to stabilize our economy and spur investment in Washington state, it is critically important that our ports remain secure and open for business,” Senator Murray said. The funding for these grants was included in the Fiscal Year 2009 Port Security Grant Program.

Environmental disaster has been averted for now but France is taking no risks after a tanker carrying thousands of tons of toxic chemicals sank off the Normandy coast, Reuters reported President Jacques Chirac as saying. Visiting an emergency operations center in Cherbourg, northwestern France, Chirac said information was still being gathered on how best to recover the chemicals that officials said were already leaking from the Italian tanker Ievoli Sun, which sank in the English Channel on Tuesday. "It's escaping in bursts," Cherbourg maritime captain Jean-Francois Choquart said. "It has to be styrene that has escaped from a forward storage tank…

NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, will conduct an emergency response drill in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary April 19-21, 2005, and is asking for assistance from local residents to help ensure its success. The goal of the drill is to improve the agency’s ability to protect the environment of the Florida Keys and the public in case of a major incident. NOAA is an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce. The scenario for NOAA’s first “Safe Sanctuaries” drill involves the hypothetical grounding of the M/V Portsmith Trader, an 800-foot cargo vessel carrying 270,000 gallons of fuel, at Elbow Reef off Key Largo. In the scenario, the grounding injures coral reef habitat and submerged historical artifacts, and an oil spill threatens other resources.

The Coast Guard is responding to the Interstate 35 bridge collapse in Minneapolis, Minn., to assist local fire and police departments, emergency medical services and the state emergency operations center with search and rescue operations. A 25-ft. smallboat crew from the Marine Safety Detachment from St. Paul, Minn., is on scene. An HH-65C Rescue Helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Traverse City, Mich., along with and the Coast Guard Auxiliary in St. Paul, Minn., have been deployed to the scene to conduct search and rescue operations.

Port Canaveral will develop a new port-wide radio communications system, as well as construct the first phase of a new Emergency Operations Center on the Port’s north side with its $2.8 million grant awarded in the latest round of Port Security Grants from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Emergency Management Officer, Lt. Cmdr. Neil Uemura, briefs personnel from Naval Support Activity New Orleans, about hurricane preparedness, which begins on June 1, 2007. Uemura and staff from the Community Support Center gave a detailed briefing on the dangers of these devastating storms and importance of a community support center. U.S. More than 100 base and tenant command personnel from Naval Support Activity (NSA) New Orleans attended two days of briefings, hosted by NSA’s Emergency Management (EM) Team and the local Community Support Center (CSC), April 9-10 in preparation for the 2007 Gulf Coast hurricane season. The briefings touched on varying subjects that apply to service members who may be ordered to evacuate the region…

On Wednesday, BC Ferries' Queen of the North, hit a rock off Gil Island in Wright Sound. BC Ferries Emergency Operations Center confirms that all 101 passengers and crew were safely evacuated via BC Ferries lifeboats. Some of the passengers and crew have been taken to Hartley Bay, which is approximately 75 miles south of Prince Rupert. Others are on the Canadian Coast Guard vessel Sir Wilfred Laurier. Passengers and crew will then be transported to Prince Rupert via Canadian Coast Guard vessel. Canadian Coast Guard vessel Sir Wilfred Laurier was on the scene by 2:15 a.m. Transport Canada and the Transportation Safety Board have been notified.

The O’Brien’s Group celebrated the grand opening of a new state-of-the-art Command Post and Emergency Operations Center (EOC) in Slidell, La. O’Brien’s previous Command Center was destroyed when Hurricane Katrina devastated the New Orleans area in 2005. The Command Center has been the foundation for O’Brien’s emergency response management services, which are provided to over 150 oil and gas company clients, as well as local, state and federal agencies. O’Brien’s also provides Qualified Individual (QI) and Spill Management Team (SMT) services to the shipping industry representing over 5,000 ships operating in U.S. territorial seas. Emergency calls received by O’Brien’s clients worldwide are managed from the Slidell Command Post and EOC.

Like other agencies, Washington State Ferries has had the elements of an emergency preparedness plan in place for several years. But the ferry system is in the process of improving the plan to make sure workers throughout the system are as well prepared as possible for natural emergencies. A big step forward has been taken with the completion of the new Emergency Management Plan (EMP) book, which details how the ferry system will react in an emergency and how it will coordinate with other agencies to provide assistance. The EMP becomes a chapter in the state Department of Transportation's overall plan for responding to emergencies. The EMP contains emergency-response procedures for ferry employees on the boats, at the terminals and in the central offices.

The U.S. Energy Department will team with industry experts to monitor any disruptions to energy supplies worldwide as Year 2000 dawns, department officials said. The department reportedly plans to staff its existing emergency operations center around the clock between Dec. 28 and early January to collect information on electricity, oil and gas industries. Government and industry experts will keep tabs on all domestic and international energy sector activities to track the Y2K bug. Status reports will be used to brief President Clinton and other government officials, and to keep the public informed. The status reports will also be fed to a $40 million White House Y2K Information Coordination Center.