Singapore’s Joint Oil Spill Clean-Up Ops Enter Next Phase
The authorities in Singapore have started the next phase of an oil spill clean-up operation, caused by the allision of a dredger and a bunker vessel, with the additional deployment of various booms and oil recovery systems.The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said that 1500 meters of booms have been deployed, and an additional 1600 meters will be deployed over the next few days in designated sites to support the containment of accumulated oil to facilitate the clean…
Converted Oil Spill Response Vessel Delivered to Sandy Hook Pilots
A vessel that formerly operated as an oil spill response vessel has been converted to a pilot station vessel and delivered to the United New York & New Jersey Sandy Hook Pilots Association.The conversion work was performed by Feeney Shipyard of Kingston, N.Y., and design and engineering work for the project was led by JMS Naval Architects, of Mystic, Conn. The 208-foot vessel, previously known as Maine Responder, has been renamed New York, and it will go to work for the Sandy Hook pilots…
Oil Spill Response Vessel Converted Into a Pilot Station
JMS Naval Architects informs conversion work is nearly completed of the former oil spill response vessel OSRV Maine Responder to a pilot station vessel for Sandy Hook Pilots Association of Staten Island, N.Y. The conversion work contract was competitively awarded to Feeney Shipyard of Kingston, N.Y.The Sandy Hook pilots have been piloting ships in the New York harbor for more than 300 years. They operate a pilot station boat by Ambrose Light year-round and in all weather conditions.
Spill Response Continues on Mississippi River
The unified command in Paducah continues its response to a spill in the Mississippi River at mile marker 937, Wednesday as active recovery efforts are underway to remove the submerged clarified slurry oil spilled as a result of a collision involving two towboats on September 2, 2015, the U.S. Coast Guard reported. According to the Coast Guard, recovery is focused on the two anomalies near the incident site that were detected by high resolution side scan sonar. The two areas were broken down into 24 grids to enable response personnel to target removal of the oil and document the progress. As of Tuesday afternoon, an environmental clamshell equipped with precision dredge position software was removing moderate to heavily oiled sediment from the river bottom.
Vikoma and Mobimar Supply Oil Spill Response Equipment for Finnish Border Guard
OPV Turva, the Finnish Border Guard's new 314 foot (95.9 meter) offshore patrol vessel, will be outfitted for oil spill response just seven months after its launch. UK-based Vikoma International Ltd and Mobimar Ltd of Finland will provide the vessel with oil spill response equipment, including 800m of Vikoma oil containment boom, four Vikoma boom reels, and Mobimar's in-hull integrated recovery system, along with other oil recovery systems. The equipment will provide a recovery capacity of over 1000m3.
EMSA Vessel to Assists with Bunker Oil Removal
The EMSA-contracted Stand by Oil Spill Response Vessel Salina Bay arrived this weekend on site of the Costa Concordia to assist SMIT Salvage, who is in charge of the bunker removal and pollution response operations. Preparations are on-going for the removal of the bunker oil from the grounded cruise ship Costa Concordia. The Salina Bay will be -as a precautionary measure- on stand-by during this operation over the next weeks. The Salina Bay is equipped with several oil recovery systems, as booms, skimmer, sweeping arms and a dedicated radar slick detection system.
Trinity Offshore to Build Very Shallow Multi–System Skimmer
Trinity Offshore, LLC announced that they have signed a contract to build one 56-ft by 14-ft MKII Very Shallow Multi-System Skimmer (VSMSS) with Clean Gulf Associates of New Orleans, La. Clean Gulf Associates, one of the largest oil spill response cooperative in North America, will operate the vessel to provide marine service and environmental clean up along the Gulf Coast to its member companies. Designed by Trinity’s in house engineering department, this revolutionary multi-purpose shallow draft skimmer is designed to travel at speeds exceeding 25 MPH, carry two three-ft wide bow mounted belt skimmer systems and store up to 249 BBLs of recovered product. Upon delivery she will be USCG certified to carry Grade D cargo.
New Wave of Acquisitions
As the USCG heads into the 21st century, all the surface and air assets which perform missions in the Deepwater environment (beyond 50 nautical miles from U.S. shores) are approaching the end of their respective service lives. These missions typically require either extended on-scene presence, long transit distance to reach the operating area, forward deployment of forces, or a combination of these factors. In addition, the USCG is faced with a constrained budget. The USCG must therefore concentrate its scarce resources on an integrated system of surface, air, command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C4ISR) and logistics assets to maximize operational effectiveness while minimizing life-cycle costs.
