EMSA helps combat US Gulf oil spill
Under the EU Civil Protection Mechanism EMSA will supply a Framo Transrec 150 high capacity high speed offshore skimmer which at the time was stockpiled at Vigo in Spain.
Federal authorities in the US have accepted an offer from The European Marine Safety Agency to supply a high capacity oil skimmer following the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
This comes as part of the response that is seeing increasing international involvement in the battle to contain the spill both at sea and onshore.
Under the EU Civil Protection Mechanism EMSA will supply a Framo Transrec 150 high capacity high speed offshore skimmer which at the time was stockpiled at Vigo in Spain. The skimmer is one of the environmental products and services supplied by Norwegian company Frank Mohn AS. Well known as suppliers of submersible cargo pumps FRAMO also offers a variety of pumping systems to the oil and gas industry, a range that includes the ROLS oil recovery system that uses a remote tool to penetrate the tanks of sunken vessels, used in the past by salvage companies.
Questions have been asked about the degree of foreign involvement in the response following the explosion and loss of the rig on 20 April, including a re-opening of the debate about the US Jones Act. US authorities have been quick to point out that the Jones Act does not apply beyond the three miles limit or to oil spill equipment, nor has any offer of assistance been declined because of the Act. There is now increasing international involvement in the form of expertise and equipment in dealing with what is now recognised as being America’s worst ever oil spill.
EMSA, together with various parties from Sweden, Germany, Norway, the UK, Denmark, Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands, Romania and France, have all previously offered containment booms together with other offers of assistance from Portugal, Belgium and Greece.
An offer of 1,200m of offshore booms from Norway has now been accepted. Also recently, Papendrecht based Royal Boskalis Westminster NV announced that it was to deploy the US flagged trailing suction hopper dredger Stuyvesant to create 75km of sand berms to protect the Louisiana coastline. Boskalis is also assisting with the installation and deployment of rigid sweeping arms supplied by the Dutch Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management.
The EU Civil Protection Mechanism is aimed at assisting EU and neighbouring countries through the pooling of resources should they be overwhelmed by natural or man made disasters. It applies on a worldwide basis however and any country can ask the EU for assistance under the arrangement. EMSA is designated to deal with marine pollution incidents that require the services of the Civil Protection Mechanism. Outside Europe this will usually involve the deployment of marine pollution experts although, as on this occasion, actual equipment has been supplied.
By Peter Barker
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