Spill Response Services News

Maritime services company Consulmar has performed a zero-emissions mooring service for a tanker, said to be the world’s first such operation.This operation took place at an offshore multiple buoy mooring site near the BP refinery, situated 2 miles from the Port of Castellón in Spain.Utilizing its electric line handling tug, CASTALIA, Consulmar towed the steel mooring lines from the vessel to each of the five mooring buoys, marking a significant advancement in the maritime industry towards more sustainable practices.The tanker vessel ARCHANGEL…

Engine manufacturer Scania on Thursday announced it has been selected by Marine Spill Response Corporation (MSRC) to power its new fleet of five 47-foot Skimmer oil response vessels, built by Rozema Boat Works. Powered by twin DI13 087M 700hp engines provided by Cascade Engine Center, the new vessels will be delivered in 2023.Formed in conjunction with the Marine Preservation Association in 1990 by oil and gas companies, MSRC is a not-for-profit organization with U.S. Coast Guard OSRO classification in every U.S. captain of the port zone except Alaska.

Marine services and towage firm KOTUG Canada Inc., a partnership between KOTUG International and Canada’s Horizon Maritime Inc., has won a long-term agreement with Trans Mountain, operator of Canada’s only oil pipeline servicing the West Coast of Canada providing tidewater access to foreign markets for Canada’s petroleum resources. KOTUG Canada will provide escort towage to tankers loaded at Westridge Marine Terminal. "KOTUG Canada was selected for this purpose by shippers on the Trans Mountain Pipeline after a rigorous and competitive process facilitated by Trans Mountain.

Dutch shipbuilder Royal Niestern Sander last weekend launched "yard number 862", a shallow draft ice-breaking walk to work vessel, being built for a joint venture between the Russian companies Mercury Sakhalin and Pola."The world’s first ice-breaking walk-to-work vessel is one step closer to delivery and operations in harsh weather conditions in Sakhalin. To be continued!," the shipbuilder said in a press statement on Tuesday.The shallow draft ice-breaking walk-to-work vessel is designed and optimized for year-round operations in the challenging conditions on the east coast of Sakhalin…

After a tender procedure, Dutch shipyard Royal Niestern Sander and a joint-venture between Russia's Mercury Sakhalin and Pola have signed an agreement for the construction of the world’s first shallow draft ice-breaking walk to work vessel. After delivery in December 2021, Mercury Sakhalin will operate this vessel on the East Coast of Sakhalin, Russia for the offshore oil and gas industry.Acting as an intermediary between both parties, Wagenborg Offshore have contributed to the…

Smith Berger Marine, Inc. said it has been selected by Edison Chouest Offshore to design and manufacture the Tow Pin Stern Roller units required on its nine new vessels, including five escort tugs and four docking tugs. Edison Chouest is building the new tugs in order to execute a 10-year Ship Escort-Response Vessel System (SERVS) contract with the Alyeska Pipeline Service Company, for which the tugs will provide tanker escort and spill response services in Prince William Sound. The Tow Pin unit has the capacity to sustain 250 tons of line tension and features three individually raised and lowered towing pins, one hold down hook and a 14” diameter stern roller.

The Marine Spill Response Corporation (MSRC), the nation’s leading oil spill response organization, has announced that Steven T. Benz, the company’s President and CEO, will be retiring on April 30, 2017. Tim Plummer, Chair of the MSRC Board of Directors, said “We are thankful to Steve for his many years of strong leadership. During his tenure, he has solidified MSRC as the preeminent spill response organization in the nation, as demonstrated by the critical role MSRC played in the “Deepwater Horizon” response.

The International Spill Control Organization (ISCO) and BIMCO are working together to develop a standard contract for spill response services. The contract is expected to be published by the end of the year. The Spill Response Services and Equipment Contract is designed for situations where a spill incident occurs and the shipowner or other stakeholder (the “requesting party”) needs to contract for clean-up services, counter pollution measures, and hire of equipment. Terms and conditions are set out in standard clauses with accompanying annexes for parties to insert detailed descriptions of the required services and rates for personnel and equipment. Emergency situations require a prompt response.

Steven Candito is the Founder, President and CEO of Foresea, which provides advisory services including strategic planning, regulatory compliance and crisis management to the maritime and environmental communities. Previously, Candito was President and CEO of NRC. He has extensive experience with OPA 90 compliance issues with particular focus on vessel owner and insurance matters. Before that, Candito was an attorney with Haight Gardner Poor & Havens, specializing in maritime and environmental law. Candito has also served as a marine engineer aboard Exxon USA’s domestic tanker fleet. He is a graduate of Hofstra University School of Law and the United States Merchant Marine Academy.

Kim Shaughnessy, longtime chief financial officer and chief operating officer of Cashman Equipment Corp., officially announced the opening of ACK Marine & General Contracting, LLC, a global marine construction and contracting company based in Quincy, Mass. The firm is certified as a Women Business Enterprise (WBE) at the national level. “I literally have grown up in the marine construction and services industry, working with clients around the world, and know it represents a huge untapped market for female entrepreneurs…

As President and CEO of MSRC, Steve Benz presides over the largest oil spill response company in the United States (and worldwide). In that position since January 1996, he has during that tenure, overseen several critical phases in the Company’s evolution. These include a major restructuring in the late 1990s to make it more competitive; growth throughout the 2000-2009 period, including acquisition of several companies; leadership in overseeing MSRC’s role in responding to the 2010 BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico…

Dubai-based Swire Emergency Response Services (SERS), a fully owned subsidiary of Swire Pacific Offshore group, announced its partnership with Mediterranean-based International Environmental and Marine Services (IEMS) to jointly provide Tier 2/3 response services to clients in Europe, Africa and the Middle East The partnership was inked on 24 October in Dubai. “We are excited about the collaboration between SERS and IEMS. This partnership will allow both companies to leverage on each other’s expertise and provide a broader range of highly sophisticated, prompt and reliable emergency response services to the offshore oil and gas industry.

Most people in the maritime industry in the United States are familiar with the concept of the Oil Spill Removal Organization (OSRO). It is one of the many quiet successes of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA 90) and has enhanced the prompt and efficient cleanup of spills of oil and hazardous materials into waters of the United States. The curious thing about OSROs is that they are not mentioned in OPA 90. OSROs, as a recognized industry, were created following enactment of OPA…

SCF Group (Sovcomflot) and Sakhalin Energy Investment Company Ltd. (Sakhalin Energy) have signed a contract for the construction and long-term operation of three multifunctional icebreaking standby vessels to serve the Sakhalin-2 offshore energy platforms. The contract covers a 20 year term, during which the vessels will provide safe and reliable services for Sakhalin Energy’s platforms in the Sea of Okhotsk. The vessels will also assist with accommodation of the offshore facilities personnel. In an emergency, the vessels will help evacuate personnel from the offshore platforms and will provide oil spill response services when necessary.

Companies sign agreements for long-term operation of three vessels for the Sakhalin-2 project. SCF Group (Sovcomflot) and Sakhalin Energy Investment Company Ltd. have signed a contract for the construction and long-term operation of three multifunctional icebreaking standby vessels to serve the Sakhalin-2 offshore energy platforms. The contract covers a 20 year term, during which the vessels will provide safe and reliable services for Sakhalin Energy’s platforms in the Sea of Okhotsk. The vessels will also assist with accommodation of the offshore facilities personnel. In an emergency, the vessels will help evacuate personnel from the offshore platforms and will provide oil spill response services when necessary.

Andrew Altendorf is the CEO and majority owner of Acme Environmental Inc. Acme’s history spans almost 50 years and the firm is recognized as a pioneer in the manufacture of oil spill containment booms and other oil spill recovery items. A U.S. Coast Guard classified OSRO, Acme and Altendorf support numerous customers in Oklahoma and the Midwest with their emergency response. He has been the President of the Spill Control Association of America since November of 2010. Prior to taking the reins as President, he served on the SCAA Board of Directors for 5 years.

Anadarko Petroleum Corporation has signed agreements with the Marine Preservation Association (MPA) and the Marine Spill Response Corporation (MSRC) to access MSRC’s national and Gulf of Mexico-based dedicated spill response resources for plan citation and spill response services. Anadarko joins other MPA founding members BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, Murphy, and Shell; and newer members Nexen, Noble, and Statoil, in funding the most extensive surface spill response capability in the Gulf of Mexico. MSRC has just completed a large expansion of its resources and capability in the Gulf of Mexico, with particular focus on the deepwater.

Eastern Canada Response Corporation (ECRC) selected BRP's Evinrude E-TEC engines to repower its 79-boat fleet. The CA$1.5 million contract was awarded to BRP based on Evinrude outboards' low cost of ownership and high environmental standards. ECRC operates six centres in eastern Canada and provides marine oil spill response services in all navigable waters east of the Rocky Mountains. Boats powered by the 30 hp to 225 hp Evinrude E-TEC engines will be at the forefront of chemical and oil spill cleanup throughout Canada and the United States.

T&T Marine Salvage, a provider of maritime support services, announced an exclusive cooperative services agreement with OSROCO and Unitek to provide oil spill response services in Guam, Saipan and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. “With equipment staged in Guam and Saipan, the T&T Marine-OSROCO-Unitek alliance offers customers calling on Sector Guam an unparalleled and cost-effective solution to meeting the requirements of OPA 90,” said T&T Marine Vice President Kevin Teichman. OSROCO is a subsidiary of Cabras Marine Corporation, a Guam-based company that provides tug boats, barges and other maritime assets in Guam, the CNMI and throughout Micronesia.

T&T BISSO announced an exclusive cooperative services agreement with Cook Inlet Spill Prevention and Response (CISPRI). Based in Nikiski, Alaska, CISPRI is a comprehensive standby oil spill response cooperative whose mission is to provide immediate response capability to its member companies. The agreement provides a unique platform for OPA 90 related salvage, emergency lightering, firefighting and oil spill response services in Alaskan waters and further strengthens the planning and response posture for tankers and non-tank vessels operating in the area.

Seacor — through an unprecedented string of strategic and financially sound acquisitions — has emerged as one of the world's premier operators of a fleet of vessels that provide marine services to the oil and gas exploration and production industry, and oil spill response services in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, North Sea, offshore West Africa, the Far East and Latin America. For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2000, the company announced net earnings of $11.1 million on revenues of $88.3 million. For the 12 months ended December 31, 2000, net earnings were $34.1 million on revenues of $339.9 million. The improvement in the fourth quarter…

The Marine Spill Response Corporation (MSRC) is now providing upgraded oil spill response services in the mid-continent region of the U.S., including the Mississippi, Ohio, Arkansas and Missouri Rivers. Captain Ian Walker will represent the National Response Organization, which owns and operates a fleet of USCG certified Oil Spill Response Vessels, in this new endeavor.