Oil Spill Response Plan
Oil Spill Response Plan
A statutory duty is imposed on harbour authorities, harbours and oil handling facilities to respond to marine pollution incidents in their waters to underpin a national duty accepted by the UK Government to respond to such pollution incidents. The Maritime Coastguard Agency (MCA) has a National Contingency Plan (NCP) for this purpose.
The MCA is required to approve harbour authority plans, and will assist authorities in responding to incidents. Other agencies - especially local authorities and various bodies with environmental responsibilities - also plan for such incidents.
The Oil Spill Contingency Plan produced by the Broads Authority is intended to guide Broads Authority personnel and those other responsible organisations through the process required to manage an oil spill into waters within the navigable parts of the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads river system.
The Oil Spill Contingency Plan has been compiled in consultation with the following statutory bodies and authorities:
Environment Agency (EA)
English Nature (EN)
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)
Norfolk County Council (NCC)
Great Yarmouth Port Authority (GYPA)
In view of the very high conservation value and importance of the Broads wetland ecosystem and the fact that much of the rivers system is contained within sites designated for their nature conservation importance (including designations as SSSI, SPA, SAC, Ramsar, etc), additional consultation has taken place with:
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB)
Norfolk Wildlife Trust (NWT)
Suffolk Wildlife Trust (SWT)
The Broads is also an internationally important resource for boating recreation. Consultation has therefore taken place with:
Broads Hire Boat Federation (BHBF)
Norfolk and Suffolk Yachting Association (NSYA)
British Marine Federation (BMF)
Erection of a Fastank during a recent joint oil spill exercise carried out with the Great Yarmouth Port Authority.
Utilisation of the plan
The ultimate test of any contingency plan is measured by the performance in a real emergency, and the effectiveness of the plan should be examined in the light of any actual oil spill emergencies which occur. The plan is also tested regularly through a series of realistic exercises.
The MCA considers that each port or harbour must hold an Incident Management Exercise, incorporating equipment deployment to a tier 2 level at least every three years.
The Broads Authority held such an exercise in March 2006.
Operation 'Fischer' was held on Thursday 9 March 2006. The location of the exercise was the River Yare, at the Berney Arms Windmill, Norfolk. The purpose of the exercise was to validate and review tier 2 deployment, contractors and equipment. The exercise scenario was that an oil tanker moored at berth 13 in Great Yarmouth had been hit by a vessel resulting in the loss of 40 tonnes of medium gas oil.
Equipment used in the exercise included a Shore Guardian Boom, Inflatable Skimex Boom, Komara 12k skimmer, Hydraulic Power Pack, Fastank, anchors and trip lines, and a rigid inflatable boat.
The method of containment used was the deployment of two booms to take into account the changing directions of tidal flow. The booms were deployed from the windmill side of the river and anchored on the opposite bank using ground anchors. A safety brief was delivered prior to the start of the exercise.
Additional equipment utilised was the Fastank, a flexible temporary storage container capable of holding 2000 gallons of liquid; this was set up adjacent to the windmill.
The Komara 12k oleophilic disc skimmer was also demonstrated when deployed in the apex of the second boom. This skimmer is capable of recovering 17 tonnes of oil per hour depending on the type of oil, viscosity, temperature and sea state. Oil recovered using the skimmer would be pumped to the temporary storage tanks until such time as a tanker would arrive on scene to empty them.
