Council applauds ‘real’ unannounced drill in Sound
On December 10, the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation surprised Alyeska Pipeline’s Ship Escort/Response Vessel System with an unannounced oil spill drill.
The drill scenario was that an unknown amount of North Slope crude oil had spilled into Sheep Bay in Prince William Sound. The cause of the imaginary spill was not stated.
Photo: A spill response worker adjusts valves to mimic real preparations for loading spilled oil skimmed from the water onto the barge. Photo by John Engles, Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation.
The council was pleased with the agency’s efforts to step up unannounced inspections and drills, as the council has been advocating for true no-notice drills for a number of years. Usually, drills are scheduled far in advance to allow time to plan the event.
The council contends that pre-planning defeats the purpose of a drill, which is to determine how ready the system actually is to respond on a moment’s notice.
The council is hoping responders take full advantage of lessons learned during the exercise to improve response readiness and effectiveness. Holding a drill in mid-December also tested response capabilities in darkness and in winter conditions.
Ten vessels participated, including the Columbia Spirit, a Valdez tour boat; the Invader, a tug from the Valdez oil terminal; seven fishing vessels; and a response barge equipped with a built-in oil skimmer. The barge is part of an open-water task force, consisting of personnel and equipment trained to respond to oil spills that occur away from shore. In a real spill, these vessels work in formation to corral spilled oil into containment booms so that it can be skimmed from the water.
Several council staffers participated as observers and noted several lessons that would be useful during future spill response planning.
One of the most important problems observed was the lengthy shifts expected of those first on the scene. In the event of a spill, current response plans call on first responders to work for 18 hours, starting from the time they arrive at the spill location. This shift time would not take into consideration any travel time or whether the person had worked during the time just before the call to the spill.
During previous discussions with the industry and others, the council viewed this as unrealistic. Others had advised that crew would be able to rest on the trip to the spill site, and then start an 18-hour shift.
The drill showed that this transit time was filled with tasks such as preparing response equipment and setting up a decontamination area. According to the council report, the crew seemed exhausted by 8 hours into the 18 hour shift, and could not have safely worked another 10 hours before relief crews would appear on scene.
“The amount of time the four man barge crew is expected to work is unrealistic, especially considering today’s safety environment,” said Roy Robertson, the council’s drill monitor. “We just don’t believe it’s safe to require these barge guys to work with dangerous equipment off the side of a barge in the middle of winter for 18 hours, especially considering they may have just worked a regular 12 hour shift.”
Among the council’s other suggestions were adding lights to the barge and oil spill containment boom to help the fishing crews judge whether the equipment and boats are aligned in the right formation. Council noted, however, that it appeared this response drill was managed fairly well even without lights, much to the credit of participants.
Redistribution of some tasks was also advisable, as the task force’s manager on the barge seemed overwhelmed with duties.
Also, more safety officers would be needed during a real spill.
Council staff commended the crew and fishing vessels on the job given the limitations in crew size and the fact that this was the first nighttime drill on the open water for Cordova fishing vessels.
The council expressed appreciation for the opportunity to observe and saw this unannounced drill as a chance to collaborate and improve spill response in Prince William Sound.