• Mike Meadors of Alyeska, Don Kompkoff of Chenega Bay, and Blake Johnson, PWSRCAC board member representing the Kenai Peninsula Borough, meet during the May 2007 BP oil spill drill. Kompkoff and Johnson participated on the Regional Stakeholders Committee, designed for citizens to have a voice in oil spill response in case of an actual spill. Meadors participated as a member of Unified Command.
  • Sharon Marchant, center, and Greg Jones, right, both of Alyeska Pipeline Service Co., discuss aspects of a meeting during BP's Prince William Sound exercise held in Valdez in May 2007.
  • Mock protesters hold signs and shout demands during a staged protest of BP's May 2007 exercise.
  • Unified Command (UC) is grilled by the "press." From left to right, seated, are Cdr. Michael Gardiner of the Coast Guard, Gary Folley of Alaska Dept. of Environmental Conservation, John Ridgeway of BP Shipping, and Anil Mathur of Alaska Tanker Co. Another Coast Guardsman moderated the meeting, designed for UC to practice facing questions the press might ask during a real incident.
  • Hundreds of people from many groups participate in the major oil spill exercises held in Prince William Sound.
  • Maps of the drill scenario are updated regularly so participants can see information such as oil spill trajectory, vessel task force locations, and locations of resources at risk.
  • Drill participants watch and listen as members of various sections meet for a discussion outside the Valdez Emergency Operations Center.
  • Tom Colby of Alaska Tanker Co. talks about the "stricken" tanker's technical aspects during the May 2007 BP exercise.
  • Barge 450-3 anchored in Port Valdez. Spill response equipment is stored on the barge and is ready to be deployed if necessary.
  • Sea otters abound in Prince William Sound and are one of the many sea mammal species that would be affected if an oil spill occurred in the region.
  • During the on-water portion of the May 2007 BP drill, spill response barges were deployed and fishing vessels called in to practice response time and clean-up methods.
  • Tankers transporting crude oil through Prince William Sound must navigate Valdez Narrows.
  • Porpoises keep pace with a tour boat in Prince William Sound.
  • Two tugs assist a tanker through Prince William Sound. The sound's tanker escort system is unrivaled.
  • Fishing vessels practice towing a current buster as part of BP's 2007 exercise in Prince William Sound. Current busters are designed to corral spilled oil on water so it can be removed with skimmers.
  • Barge 500-2 incorporates a helicopter landing pad.
  • Shoreline boom is deployed in Two Moon Bay during the 2007 BP drill. Fishing vessel crews practice this and other types of boom deployment during exercises and drills.
  • Fishing vessels practice towing boom in a U/J configuration. The "U" shape is supposed to corral spilled oil, then they form the boom into a "J" shape, from where the oil is skimmed off and stored temporarily in mini-barges.
  • Alyeska/SERVS (Ship Escort Response Vessel System) personnel stop by for a chat during the 2007 BP drill.
  • Council members tour an otter hospital set up by Alyeska during the May 2007 BP exercise. Shown is an otter washing station. In the event of a spill, oiled otters could be captured by people trained to do so and brought here. They would then go through a process of being cleaned, dried, examined by veterinarians, placed in an enclosed salt-water pen to reproof their fur (sea otters continually groom themselves to condition their fur for flotation), then be released back to the wild when ready.
  • A humpback whale makes a brief appearance in Prince William Sound.
  • Current buster being tested.
  • Testing an ocean buster.
  • Fishing vessel testing a current buster.
  • Fishing vessel during oil spill response training.
  • Tugs test their onboard firefighting equipment in Port Valdez.
  • Fishing vessel training at Port Fidalgo.
  • Pulling boom off beach with ATV at Chenega Bay.
  • An Airborne Dispersant Delivery System (ADDS) unit is loaded into a cargo plane during a drill.
  • Helicopter dropping simulated dispersants during a drill.
  • Mini-barges, offloaded from a large vessel during training or a real spill, are used for recovered oil storage.
  • A fishing vessel tows a current buster into place during oil spill response training in Cordova.
  • Participants in the fishing vessel training program receive a combination of classroom time, hands-on learning with response equipment, and on-water training.
  • Fishermen onboard a local boat during fishing vessel training in Homer.
  • Fishermen observe an oil skimmer.
  • An oil skimmer.
  • Boom is inflated on land to allow trainees the opportunity for hands-on "deployment" before their on-water training exercises.
  • An instructor shares his knowledge of how a skimmer works.
  • Fishing vessel training participants meet to discuss tactics.
  • Boom is kept deflated and rolled onboard a larger vessel. Here, a fishing boat tows one end away to unroll and deploy it for training.
  • Fishing vessel training participants are required to wear hard hats during the hands-on and on-water days.
  • A current buster is inflated before being offloaded.
  • Fishing vessels practice towing boom in "U" and "J" configurations.
  • Kodiak fishing boats practice towing boom.
  • The tug Attentive near Seal Rocks.
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