Courtesy Photo | Workers from SEACOR Environmental Services deploy a boom device as part of the oil...... read more read more
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by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Aaron Pineda
NAVCENT, U.S. 5th Fleet PAO
On Thursday June 26, the Naval Support Activity (NSA) Bahrain Environmental Department tested an oil spill recovery concept at the Mina Salman pier fulfilling international environmental standards and complying with naval operational requirements.
The concept tested the capability of the SEACOR oil spill recovery program. SEACOR Environmental Services is a private company contracted through the U.S. Navy to respond to oil spills that happen throughout the Navy Region Southwest Asia.
"The purpose of this exercise was to test and enhance readiness to response to pierside OHS spills," said Capt. Mark Deardurff, NSA Bahrain commanding officer. "And Commander, Navy Region Southwest Asia (CNRSWA) is designated as the Navy On-Scene Coordinator (NOSC), which coordinates responses to oil and hazardous spills (OHS) from shore activities and naval vessels at Mina Salman, as well as other ports in the region."
The exercise scenario had a naval vessel spill a simulated 250 gallons of fuel pierside. Arriving on scene, SEACOR was provided a briefing on weather conditions from the U.S. Navy Central Meteorology and Oceanography Center [METOC], which advised on how weather conditions could affect the spill recovery.
SEACOR also provided a safety brief to the observers explaining what equipment would be deployed and how to circumvent safety mishaps. Its response plan called for deploying a boom to contain the spill from further contamination, followed by an oil recovery disc-skimmer to recover the fuel.
The recovered fuel would then be pumped into a storage tank and later brought to the Navy Environmental Department for proper management.
The CNRSWA team consisted of U.S. Navy personnel from the NSA Environmental Office (EMO), Port Operations, Harbor Patrol Unit (HPU) and U.S. Navy Forces Central Command (NAVCENT).
Deardurff felt the exercise was a success and said the evolution will strengthen NSA Bahrain's contingency plans in case a real mishap ever occurs.
"When you don't do something on a regular basis, like OHS responses," said Deardurff, 'then exercises become critical to ensuring that we succeed when the time comes to actually respond to an emergency."
| Date Taken: | 07.14.2006 |
| Date Posted: | 07.14.2006 10:14 |
| Story ID: | 7183 |
| Location: | BH |
| Web Views: | 479 |
| Downloads: | 382 |
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