PREVENTION & REACTION TO MARINE OIL SPILLS - UNDER OPA '90

PREVENTION & REACTION TO MARINE OIL SPILLS - UNDER OPA '90 (EDITION 2)

The US Oil Pollution Act of 1990 changed forever the approach to oil spill response of all tank ships trading to the United States. The legislative requirements of OPA 90 can appear bewildering to those unfamiliar with them, and the objective of this package is to demonstrate what is needed in practice and to shed some light on the responsibilities and obligations required of those on board any ship during an oil spill. The video follows in detail an exercise in U.S. waters. Although primarily aimed at shipboard officers with responsibilities under the OPA 90 Vessel Response Plan, anyone associated with transporting oil as cargo in United States waters will find it useful. Its accompanying printed material contains further information on OPA 90 and includes a glossary of terms.

The exercise scenario consists of a tanker collision with a lightering barge. The spill size is of the order of a Maximum Most Probable Discharge and so initiates a full response from the ship's owner and the United States Coast Guard. The exercise conforms to the Preparedness for Response Exercise Program (PREP) guidelines' requirement for a quarterly exercise for a ship and an annual table top exercise for the Spill Management Team.

The roles and activities of the following organisations and individuals are identified, shown and discussed:

• The Qualified Individual (QI)
• The Responsible Party
• The Spill Management Team
• The Coast Guard
• The Unified Command Structure
• The State Authorities

Other roles are also identified including the National Response Centre, the Oil Spill Removal Organisation (OSRO), the ship's agent, the cargo owner, the Area Contingency Plan and United States Coast Guard Field Command Posts.