Oil Spill Response Limited (OSRL) will be performing a live on-the-water exercise today until Friday (22-25) off the Isle of Wight, to train its response teams and develop its operational capabilities.
The exercise will involve simulating an oil spill incident to test response equipment and instruct personnel on best-practice procedures.
It will take place southwest of the Isle of Wight and along the Solent and involve a number of specialist vessels out on the water, as well as a Boeing 727 aircraft adapted with internal tanks, pumps, and spray booms flying alongside a dedicated surveillance aircraft.
With the protection of the marine environment paramount, the event will involve the Boeing 727 flying at a low level and depositing a small amount of a harmless fluorescein dye into the water to simulate an oil spill.
The OSRL vessels will then perform the relevant training activities and use the aircraft to spray water over the target area, simulating the application of a specialist oil spill dispersant.
Throughout the week, various containment and remediation equipment items will be deployed in the water and may be visible from the shore.
Apparatus will include a range of different booms used to contain oil in an actual spill scenario and ‘skimmers’, which collect oil from the water’s surface and transfer it to a tank or vessel.
Commenting on the exercise, Rob James, Regional Director EMEA, said:
"As the world’s largest dedicated oil spill response organisation, we constantly need to train our teams and validate current good-practice methodologies. Exercises like these are complex and challenging to perform, but they are also essential to ensuring we’re best able to protect the marine environment should an incident occur.
"For local residents, you can be assured that no oil or dispersants are being used, and there is absolutely no risk to the coastline or local marine life."
Oil Spill Response Limited (OSRL) is the largest international industry-funded spill-response cooperative, dedicated to responding to oil spills, wherever in the world they may occur. OSRL provides preparedness, response and intervention services and is wholly owned by the most environmentally responsible oil and gas companies around the globe.
OSRL employs 275 people across 12 locations and is headquartered in Southampton, UK.
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