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Response Management News

20 Jan 2022

Appeals Court Revives BP’s Fight Over Deepwater Cleanup Workers’ Claims

Crewmembers on board Coast Guard Cutter Walnut deploy an oil skimmer into oil the ship collects in its inflatable boom, July 2, 2010. The Walnut, homeported in Honolulu, Hawaii has been temporarily redeployed to the Gulf of Mexico to aid in the BP Deepwater Horizon response. - Credit:  Deepwater Horizon Response/(CC BY-ND 2.0)

A federal appeals court on Wednesday revived a fight between BP, two contractors, and an insurance company over who should pay for thousands of personal injury claims brought by cleanup workers after the Deepwater Horizon explosion and fire in 2010.The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed most of a lower court’s rulings for contractors National Response Corp and O’Brien’s Resource Management, and for O’Brien’s excess-liability insurer, Navigators Insurance Co.The decision was not a complete win for BP, however.

24 May 2019

Teaching Teenagers About Oil Spill Issues

Discussions on oil pollution prevention, preparedness and response took centre stage this week (20-24 May) at the latest edition of Spillcon 2019 in Perth, Australia.The forum included sessions on cause and prevention, response management and environmental issues.A raft of high calibre national and international speakers addressed the conference on their particular areas of expertise. However, this year, the audience also invited 12 to 15 years olds to join the event to learn more about issues related to environmental protection, oil and chemical pollution, preparedness and response. The curious students took part in a range of activities…

13 Nov 2018

East Africa, Western Indian Ocean Strengthen Oil Spill Response

A training event on oil spill preparedness and response for countries in eastern Africa, was held in Dar Es Salaam, United Republic of Tanzania (6-9 November).The  relevant government agency representatives with responsibilities in spill response in the countries like Comoros, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, South Africa, Somalia, United Republic of Tanzania, and Uganda have participated in the training."In the event of a marine oil spill, relevant government agencies in the affected region need to manage and coordinate a response," a release from International Maritime Organization (IMO) explained the scenario.The…

01 Aug 2016

Revised PREP Guidelines: What You Should Know

Kate Kelley

On April 11, 2016 the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) released the revised 2016 National Preparedness for Response Exercise Program (PREP) Guidelines. The new guidelines will become effective on June 10, 2016. Established under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, the PREP guidelines were developed to provide a mechanism for compliance with the vessel response plan (VRP) drill and exercise requirements. Use of the PREP Guidelines is voluntary, however, compliance with the PREP guidelines will satisfy these requirements.

08 Sep 2014

USCG Suspends Search for Downed Aircraft near Jamaica

The Coast Guard suspended their search Sunday at approximately 11 a.m. for two possible survivors of a plane in the water 14 miles north of Port Antonio, Jamaica, Friday. Watchstanders at Coast Guard 7th District command center in Miami received a call from U.S. Northern Command at 11 a.m. reporting that a Socata TBM 700 light business and utility single engine turboprop aircraft departed Rochester, New York at 8:26 a.m. with two people aboard who were reportedly unresponsive to radio calls. The plane was scheduled to arrive in Naples, Florida at noon, Friday. A Coast Guard C-130 aircrew was launched from Clearwater, Florida to help monitor the unresponsive aircraft. Two F-15 fighter jets under the direction of North American Aerospace Defense Command were launched to investigate.

25 Jul 2014

Danos Adds Environmental Services

Danos recently added an Environmental Services Division to the company’s collection of oilfield related services, which includes production workforce, construction, fabrication, coatings, instrumentation and electrical, and shorebase and logistics. Located on the Intracoastal Waterway in Larose, La., the Environmental Services Division provides full-service environmental cleaning – from spill kits to tank cleaning and small releases to large magnitude spills. Executive Vice President Paul Danos said, “Adding environmental services to our family of capabilities positions Danos to better serve our customers’ oilfield needs. Danos’ environmental services team…

29 Jan 2014

McMurdo Group Launched for Complete SAR Service

McMurdo Group was launched today as a new global company in end-to-end search and rescue (SAR) and maritime domain awareness (MDA) solutions. Comprised of Orolia’s former Positioning, Tracking and Monitoring Division, McMurdo Group combines Boatracs, Kannad, McMurdo and Techno-Sciences, Inc. into the industry’s first, single-vendor provider of end-to-end lifesaving and tracking solutions including distress beacons, satellite connectivity infrastructure, monitoring/positioning software and emergency response management. “The formation of McMurdo Group is far more just than a corporate realignment. It is an opportunity to lead, simplify and educate a fragmented…

15 Jan 2014

V.Ships Signs with Spill Center for Global Vessel Spill Support

Spill Center, a North American leader in environmental claims management and emergency response support for transportation clients at risk for releases of hazardous materials, has expanded its program to include global cargo-carrying vessels, according to Tom Moses, president and founder of the company. V.Ships, a ship management company with a network of 18 offices worldwide, provides shipowners with a range of management and support services for oil tankers, chemical tankers, gas carriers and dry bulk cargo vessels. V.Ships offers environmental support services to ship owners through Spill Center. Services include immediate response management services…

07 Jan 2014

Spill Response Discussion with SCAA President Scott Metzger

Scott Metzger has been with Clean Harbors Environmental Services for more than 22 years. He is the Senior Vice President, Emergency Services and holds an oversight role for the Clean Harbors National Strike Team that manages environmental incidents. When not deployed on an event, Scott is focused on ER preparedness, readiness, training and the strategic development of response teams. And now, as the President of the Spill Control Association of America (SCAA), he’s got even more on his plate. Couple this with the advent of the U.S.

04 Dec 2013

NZ Safety Agency Alotted Extra Funds on Back of Shipwreck Report

Rena remains: Photo credit MNZ

New Zealand Government Transport Minister Gerry Brownlee has announced a $2 million package to help Maritime New Zealand (MNZ) improve New Zealand’s wider maritime response capability following an independent review of its response to the grounding of the container ship 'Rena' off the coast of Tauranga in October 2011. Conducted by former Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Trade Simon Murdoch, the review identified several areas for improvement. Mr Brownlee says the Rena response was about more than oil…

25 Oct 2013

The Importance and Value of Marine Industry Training

Figure 1

The Coast Guard Marine Industry Training Program offers incredible opportunities for Coast Guard employees to intimately learn specific facets of the marine industry. Participants of the program work directly for industry partners for up to 1 year. In addition to building superior government/industry working relationships, the program affords industry sponsors an opportunity to share detailed business considerations and limitations, so that Coast Guard regulatory activities most effectively promote safety, while limiting undue burden on the maritime industry.

04 Sep 2013

ARES Security Acquires The Mariner Group

ARES Security Corporation and The Mariner Group announced that ARES Security has acquired a majority ownership interest in The Mariner Group, LLC. This acquisition builds on Mariner’s expansion while strengthening ARES Security’s position to serve the global security market by providing comprehensive end-to-end physical and logical security solutions. ARES Security will incorporate Mariner’s CommandBridge platform into their suite of risk management solutions to provide sensor integration and real time command and control capabilities. Now, ARES Security will offer their AVERT and BluTrain products, to identify and quantify threats for…

29 Apr 2011

RESOLVE, Shanghai Shengmin Shipping Svcs Form Oil Spill Response JV

U.S.- based RESOLVE Marine Group and Shanghai- based Shanghai Shengmin Shipping Service Co., Ltd. Shanghai, China,   April 29, 2011 – Shanghai Shengmin Shipping Service Co., Ltd. and  U.S.–based RESOLVE Marine Group, Inc. have announced the formation of an Oil Spill Response Organization joint venture, the Shanghai Resolve-Shengmin OSRO Company (SRSOC). SRSOC will provide Class 1 oil spill response organization services, enabling tank vessels and other ships calling at Chinese…

15 Aug 2011

NPREP: Pre-Exercise Public Outreach Events

LOS ANGELES — The Coast Guard announces its National Preparedness Response Exercise Program (NPREP) pre-exercise Public Outreach events to be held Sept. 13, 2011 in Ventura, Calif., free of charge. Government and Industry experts will be facilitating seminars on three topics of interest: Deepwater Horizon Response, Oiled Wildlife Care Network, and Sensitive Sites Strategy, from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m. Static displays such as communications trailers, a HASS-like boat, Patch technology for vessels, off-shore deployment of a Vessel of Opportunity Skimming System (VOSS) from Coast Guard Cutter George Cobb, and others, will be available for viewing from 2 p.m. until 6 p.m. The seminars and displays will be held at Robert J.

13 Aug 2013

Coast Guard to Test Oil Spill Technologies in Arctic

RDC personnel and partners will build on prior Arctic research projects including the 2012 deployment of a skimmer designed for recovering oil from ice off the coast of Barrow, Alaska. U.S. Coast Guard illustration.

The U.S. Coast Guard Research and Development Center (RDC) plans to test and evaluate oil spill detection and recovery technologies in the Arctic Ocean as part of Operation Arctic Shield 2013. A multi-agency team of engineers and scientists led by RDC researchers will conduct a series of demonstrations in September aboard Coast Guard Cutter Healy to test and evaluate capabilities of various unmanned aerial systems (UAS), an unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) and a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) to search for simulated oil spills.

15 Aug 2013

Salerno to Take Helm at BSEE

Secretary Jewell Names Former USCG Vice Admiral Brian Salerno  Director of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell today named former Vice Admiral Brian Salerno as the Director of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), which provides federal oversight for oil and gas operations on the Outer Continental Shelf. Salerno, who retired from the U.S. Coast Guard last year as its Deputy Commandant for Operations, will assume his new position on August 26.

16 Aug 2013

Coast Guard to Test Arctic Oil Spill Technologies

Arctic ocean oil spill operations: Rendering courtesy of USCG

The U.S. Coast Guard Research and Development Center (RDC) plans to test and evaluate oil spill detection and recovery technologies in the Arctic Ocean as part of Operation Arctic Shield 2013. A multi-agency team of engineers and scientists led by RDC researchers will conduct a series of demonstrations in September 2013 aboard Coast Guard Cutter Healy to test and evaluate capabilities of various unmanned aerial systems (UAS), an unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) and a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) to search for simulated oil spills.

09 Nov 2011

Hankins Joins Donjon as VP

Donjon Marine said that Paul Hankins, formerly President of Donjon-SMIT, LLC, has joined Donjon as Vice President of Operations-Salvage & Engineering Division. Hankins’ primary duties will involve Donjon’s U.S. Navy Salvage Services Contract, as well as its U.S. Coast Guard Basic Ordering Agreement (BOA). “Donjon is pleased to welcome Paul to the Donjon team and we look forward to his expertise and management experience to help bolster our marine salvage activities,” said John A. Witte, Jr., Executive Vice President, Donjon Marine Co., Inc. A native of Washington, DC, Mr.

08 Feb 2012

BSEE, NOAA Enhance Response Mapping

BSEE and NOAA to complete Arctic oil spill response mapping tool. The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced today they are partnering to enhance the Environmental Response Management Application (ERMA®) for the Arctic region by summer 2012. ERMA® is the same interactive online mapping tool used by federal responders during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. This effort will help address numerous…

23 May 2012

Oil Drilling Legal Expert Opens Consultancy, Publishes

Drilling contract expert Cary A. Moomjian, Jr. For over 35 years, Mr. Moomjian served in senior legal and commercial positions in the contract drilling industry, over half of which was as VP and General Counsel for two major drilling companies (Ensco and Santa Fe). His expertise includes domestic and international legal, contractual, commercial, and risk management matters including drilling and oil service contracts, joint venture relationships, shipyard rig construction projects, financings, mergers, and acquisitions as well as crisis response management. Mr. Moomjian also has substantial experience in dispute resolution and litigation management. Mr.

13 Jun 2012

"One Call" Offers SPRO Services in Over 160 China Ports

New 63-meter oil spill response vessel Donglei 6

Shanghai Resolve-Shengmin OSRO Company, Ltd. (SRSOC), a  Level 1 Ship Pollution Response Organization (SPRO), has introduced its wide network of Ship Pollution Response Organization (SPRO) partners throughout China. Known as "One Call", the consortium can now arrange China Maritime Safety Administration (MSA) certified Level 1 SPRO coverage for ships calling in any coastal port in the People's Republic of China (PRC). Since January 2012, SRSOC has offered statutorily required ship pollution response readiness in Shanghai and most China ports.

12 Nov 2012

NY Nor'easter Fails to Prevent 'Sandy' Pollution Clean-up

Map Showing Arthur Kill Pollution Sites: Image credit NOAA

In anticipation of the winter storm which came on the heels of Hurricane Sandy, spill response teams based on New York’s Staten Island stopped work for just a day. NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration is continuing aerial surveys of Arthur Kill, the waterway spanning New Jersey and New York which experienced several hazardous spills in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. These surveys serve as reconnaissance for responders managing the oil spill cleanup. Major response operations for the diesel spilled at the Motiva Refinery in Sewarren…

07 Jan 2013

The Challenge of Responding to Arctic Oil Spills

December 8, 2004. The bulk carrier M/V Selendang Ayu ran aground on Unalaska Island.

The U.S. Arctic is no longer the place it once was. The environment north of the Yukon River and beyond the vast Brooks Range is warming rapidly. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) scientists predict that by 2020-2030, the Arctic could be nearly free of sea ice during the summer. Open seas will expand opportunities for maritime transportation, tourism, and oil and gas exploration in the region. But as a warming Arctic opens up vast opportunities for commerce and development…