Oil Spill Response News

The Regional Clean Sea Organization (RECSO), an oil industry co-operative organisation in the Middle East, has hosted First RECSO Enviro Spill Conference and Exhibition.In delivering the keynote speech at the opening ceremony, Abdulhakim A. Al-Gouhi, vice president of Industrial Services with Saudi Aramco, called on members to collaborate to protect the pristine Gulf environment through prevention, preparedness, and response.“We come together to demonstrate our unlimited commitment toward protecting the marine environment from any harmful effects of pollution…

Sea Machines Robotics CEO & President.Michael Gordon Johnson is a marine engineer, an accomplished entrepreneur and sector leader with a primary goal of building progressive and sustainable innovation for modern society. He is the founder of Sea Machines, a Boston-based tech company that is a leading provider of autonomous control and intelligent perception systems for marine vessels. Johnson earned a marine engineering degree from Texas A&M University before starting a career focused on complex projects in offshore oil and gas, marine transportation and salvage.

Maritime autonomous surface ship (“MASS”) technology continues to advance at a rapid pace around the globe. Although it’s not being embraced as quickly in the United States commercial market as other parts of the world, U.S. industry professionals and regulators look forward to continued development and implementation as a means to improve efficiency and safety.OpportunitiesThe U.S. Maritime Administration (“MARAD”) hosted “Achieving Critical MASS: Spotlight on the U.S. Vessel Automation Industry” July 22 and 23, 2019, encouraging discussion between U.S.

Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML): mention these two terms and the listener may instantly think of the ads displayed as you view your favorite online news site. This is one version of what AI/ML might be. Given the state of AI and ML research today, these advanced mathematical techniques represent something the U.S. Coast Guard should explore for mission application. To do this, common definitions need to be created, challenges understood, and practical use…

Developing and maintaining sound capability to respond effectively to marine pollution incidents involving oil, hazardous and noxious substances is a priority in the Caribbean, which is home to many vulnerable ecosystems.In response, the Curacao-based Regional Marine Pollution Emergency, Information and Training Center for the Caribbean (REMPEITC-Caribe) organized a trans-boundary oil spill response exercise in Suriname (27-28 August).The event brought together response managers…

UK-based marine services company Briggs Marine Contractors (BMC) has been awarded a framework agreement for the underwater inspection and maintenance of SSE Hydro and thermal power generation sites.Under the contract, the company will provide services throughout Scotland and the United Kingdom for three years.The Briggs Marine Dive Team, who are approved for in-water inspection by ABS, Lloyds Register, and DNV-GL, has extensive experience working in remote and challenging locations…

Sea Machines Robotics has been a progressive leader in advancing autonomy in the maritime space, and today it announced a deal with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MarAd) to demonstrate the value of Sea Machines’ autonomous technology in marine oil-spill response ops. The scope of the deal has Sea Machines installing its SM300 autonomous-command system aboard a Marine Spill Response Corp. (MSRC)-owned MARCO skimming vessel and will train MSRC personnel to operate the system.

The Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Response Centre for the Mediterranean Sea (REMPEC),  the IMO-administered pollution emergency response centre in the Mediterranean, has delivered a national training course in oil spill response in Montenegro.International Maritime Organization (IMO) said in a press release that the course was designed to prepare the competent national authorities to co-ordinate and manage responses and make decisions on strategies and tactics to be used in clean-up operations.It was aimed at supervisors and on-scene commanders…

It has been ten years since the U.S. Salvage and Marine Firefighting Regulations were published: Is it time for a reassessment of the U.S. marine salvage posture?In 1982, the National Research Council’s Committee on the National Salvage Posture prepared a study entitled, “Marine Salvage in the United States.” The goal of the report was “to assess the present national posture for coping with ship rescue salvage and towing situations for time-critical offshore salvage in general.”…

Resolve Marine Group was awarded the prestigious AMVER (Automated Mutual Assistance Vessel Rescue System) Award for work done by privately funded Emergency Response Salvage Tug the Resolve Pioneer.It was presented to Resolve by the United States Coast Guard Commandant, Admiral Karl Schultz at the close of National Maritime Day and the NAMEPA Safety at Sea conference at the Press Club in Washington D.C. on May 26, and recognized the work done by the Resolve Pioneer under the AMVER system. The global AMVER network is more than 60 years old.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has been granted observer status at the Arctic Council.According to the UN body, this will allow IMO to build on previous cooperation with the Arctic Council and engage in close collaboration on a range issues related to shipping in the Arctic, in particular, search and rescue, pollution response and maritime safety and protection of the marine environment.IMO has adopted the  Polar Code, which provides mandatory requirements for ships operating in the harsh environment of the Polar regions…

The U.S. Coast Guard said on Sunday it is responding to a crude oil discharge in Rattle Snake Bayou, southwest of Port Sulphur, La.Coast Guard watchstanders in New Orleans received a report from the National Response Center that the well was reported to be leaking.It is unknown when the discharge began, and the amount discharged has not been determined. The well is rated to produce 5,476 gallons of oil per day.Responders are working to locate and secure the source of the discharge. The well's owner Hilcorp has contracted ES&H as an oil spill response organization.

GAC Marine’s branch in Turkmenistan has been awarded two contracts by Petronas Carigali, a subsidiary of Petronas, to provide marine services for its development of the Garagol Deniz West (GDW) oil field.The service provider of full marine transportation to the offshore industry said in a press release that it will supply three anchor-handling vessels manned by experienced crew and kitted out with specialist onboard equipment to provide critical 24-hour support for the drilling…

Griffon Hoverwork will launch  its new 995ED model at  Exponaval in Valparaiso, Chile.“Griffon is hugely excited to unveil the highly innovative 995ED which is specially designed for search and rescue, coastguard and surveying work complementing Griffon’s range of marine grade aluminium hovercraft,” said sales and marketing director Nick MacLeod-Ash. “The 995ED, at eight meters (m) length and 30 knots speed at full ‘all up weight’, is the first hovercraft to achieve certification…

A new oil spill response device capable of cleaning up spills in arctic conditions has been launched in an effort to bolster Norway’s spill preparedness.The new device, dubbed Arctic FoxTail, is a winterized version of H. Henriksen’s standard Foxtail vertical adhesion band (VAB) skimmer, which filters out oil spills from the seawater using its sorbent mops. The system is capable of salvaging large quantities of oil after a spill, without much unnecessary water.Tonsberg-based H.

Norwegian multinational energy company Equinor ASA and the provider of emergency rescue and response vessels Esvagt have extended their cooperation in the southern part of the Norwegian sector.The vessel provider said on Tuesday that the cooperation with Equinor was extended by a minimum of three years."Over the next three years, the Esvagt Bergen and the Esvagt Stavanger will be servicing Equinor in the southern part of the Norwegian sector," it said.Eight years of mutual trust and cooperation are about to be extended…

Offshore vessel owner ESVAGT says it has set its sights on growth opportunities in Arctic regions where an uptick in oil and gas production is expected in coming years. In the Barents Sea, for example, the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate as recently as 2017 updated its evaluation of the area’s oil and gas reserves to over 17 billion barrels, a doubling compared to prior estimates.ESVAGT says it possesses the particular skillset and assets required for operations in the Arctic."It is on many levels challenging to work in the Arctic regions…

Oil Spill Response Ltd (OSRL) has expanded its member offer with the launch of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) service. The new service aims to enhance preparedness and response capabilities to better support members’ needs in the event of a spill.To facilitate the service on a global basis, and to ensure the shortest time to mobilization, OSRL has signed ‘call-off agreements’ with a number of third-party UAV providers around the world. Launch partners for the service include Bristow Aerial Solutions, Sky-Futures and Vertical Horizon Media.

International Maritime Organization (IMO) has conducted a Level 2 Training Course on OPRC (Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Co-operation) in St Kitts and Nevis  for oil spill response managers in the wider Caribbean region.Participants from 15 countries attended the IMO-funded event, which is focused on tactical aspects of spill preparedness and response, and applying incident management systems to assist effective coordination of spill response.The countries were Anguilla…

On August 18, 1990, the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA 90) was enacted into law. Section 4202 of that Act amended the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA or Clean Water Act) to require tank vessels and marine transportation-related facilities to prepare and submit to the US Coast Guard plans for responding, to the maximum extent practicable, to a worse case discharge, and to a substantial threat of such a discharge, of oil or a hazardous substance carried in bulk as cargo.

A salvage dive team located a two-inch diameter hole on the port side of the engine room and applied a temporary patch. The vessel is no longer taking on water. Any pollution from the incident has been recovered or dissipated. Containment booms will remain in place, and a watchstander will stay on the vessel to monitor the situation. A long term plan for the ship is in development.“The safety of residents and responders is our priority, and while no one wants something like this to happen, thankfully it occurred at the pier where they swiftly addressed the issue,” said Lt. Erica Brewton, Sector Honolulu Incident Management Division.

Guyana is the latest country to benefit from International Maritime Organization (IMO)’s continuing work to strengthen oil spill response capacity in the Wider Caribbean Region.According to the UN body, Guyanese officials from 28 different government agencies, environmental stakeholders, and local industry representatives took part in the Regional Marine Pollution Emergency, Information and Training Centre for the Caribbean (REMPEITC)-Caribe training workshop (18-20 March) funded…

A containership has reportedly leaked fuel oil into the Arthur Kill waterway near Staten Island, N.Y., the U.S. Coast Guard said.The Coast Guard said it is working alongside partner agencies to respond to the spill, which occurred while the vessel was moored at the Global Marine New York Container Terminal on Thursday afternoon. The amount of fuel spilled is currently unknown, and the cause of the spill is under investigation, the Coast Guard said.A Unified Command has been established on scene to coordinate cleanup efforts. Containment boom has been placed around the vessel and there are multiple oil spill response vessels actively…