Canadian Spill Response Organization

CSRO SERVICES

Recent CSRO oil spill training and exercise activities


Offshore oil containment and recovery under open ocean conditions Spill response

Spill response support for offshore drilling operations
A CSRO member was recently involved in coordinating on-water oil spill response training in support of offshore oil exploration by an oil company client drilling in the Gulf of Paria in Trinidad and Tobago. The oil containment boom and oil recovery system was supplied under contract by an international response contractor. The majority of personnel used for equipment deployment were personnel from a local marine contractor. The equipment supplier was responsible for the operating integrity of the equipment and its operation. The oil containment boom and oil skimmer were deployed by two vessels normally used in day to day support of the oil drilling operation. The vessels were provided by the oil company operating the offshore drilling platform. The boom and skimmer systems and support equipment were loaded onto an offshore supply vessel at the oil company’s shore base and secured to the vessel deck. Once deployed onto the water the oil containment boom was towed in tandem in a U-configuration by the supply vessel and a tug boat. With its Z-drive propulsion system, the tug was very manoeuvrable which made the overall deployment much easier. Several U-turns (180-degree turns) were practiced with the boom system under tow after a period of straight line towing. The skimmer was deployed onto the water into the apex of the boom using the supply vessel’s crane. A deployment procedure was developed in advance of hands-on training. At that time, the associated safety hazards were identified and methods to reduce the risk to operations personnel were incorporated in the procedure. Prior to the actual equipment deployment, classroom training was provided by the CSRO member for the personnel deploying the equipment as well as for the captains and crew members from the two vessels. Three classroom training sessions were therefore provided. The deployment procedure was revised to include any significant observations made during classroom training. Each ship involved in the hands-on training gave the contractor personnel and observers an orientation to the ship, its safety equipment, life saving appliances, emergency alarms and signals, muster stations and evacuation procedures. Each equipment deployment session included an operations/safety briefing before commencing as well as tool-box talks prior to major equipment deployment steps. Radio communications was provided on each vessel between the vessel captain (on the bridge) and its own deck workers. Communications was also provided between the two captains (bridge to bridge) as well as deck to deck. Following a full day of training deployments on the water (without observers), an exercise was conducted to demonstrate the oil company’s developed oil spill response capabilities to the government in order to satisfy certain requirements of their drilling license. The CSRO member served as the on-scene commander (OSC) on behalf of the operating oil company and worked in a coordination role on the supply vessel bridge to advise the vessel masters as needed during all operations. The OSC also had radio communications with the contractor’s deck supervisors. The CSRO member provided a technical briefing to the exercise observers prior to the equipment deployments and led an exercise debriefing held onboard the oil recovery vessel at the end of the exercise. After the exercise, the equipment was returned to the oil company shore base, offloaded serviced, re-packed and returned to its original state of preparedness by the contractor. The equipment was kept at the shore base for long term storage and quick mobilization when needed. The CSRO member revised the equipment deployment procedure to capture lessons learned during the exercise. The revised deployment procedure was distributed in CD form to the oil company personnel involved in response operations. In addition, an exercise report was prepared for the client oil company for submission to the government oil and gas regulatory agency.