Manama, Bahrain – Naval Sea Systems Command Salvage and Diving Supervisor (SUPSALV), in collaboration with Naval Support Activities (NSA) Bahrain Environmental Division, Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command, and Europe-Africa Central, is conducting comprehensive salvage and contamination operations. Response training was successfully conducted. Part of the annual oil spill response exercise held at NSA Bahrain from November 5th to 8th.
The four-day exercise aims to demonstrate readiness in the phased deployment of preparedness and response capabilities in Bahrain, which will be used to quickly respond to jetty-side oil spills and deploy to the open sea. It was held to coincide with the annual maintenance of SUPSALV equipment.
“Proactively deploying spill equipment allows us to maintain our technical proficiency while maintaining our long-standing partnership with environmental organizations in the Kingdom of Bahrain,” said Sean Suk, NSA Bahrain Environmental Director. he said. “In addition to protecting coastlines in the host nation’s best interests, the exchange of information, technology and training is key to responding effectively in the event of an actual incident.”
The SUPSALV team, led by Robert McClellan, previously conducted oil spill recovery exercises with NSA Bahrain and assisted in actual oil spill recovery operations. They led this year’s exercise, which simulated various aspects of a fuel spill response, including containment, cleanup, environmental monitoring, and promoting health and safety measures.
“The ability to be out in the field and operate this equipment in the water is essential to being ready. There are so many issues in the maintenance cycle that can only be identified and addressed by being in the field.” said McClellan. “Combining that with the opportunity to coordinate with other response partners on and off base ensures that we can respond to these events in a meaningful and effective manner.”
Several host country agencies were present, including the Maritime Emergency Mutual Aid Center (MEMAC), Bahrain Oil Company (BAPCO), APM Terminals, Bahrain Coast Guard, and Ports and Maritime Affairs (PMA). Participants were given a tour of the SUPSALV Emergency Ship Salvage Material (ESSM) facility where they were briefed on the capabilities and overall functionality of the various salvage systems and equipment, including the command van, outfitting van, salvage skimmer system van, and oil containment boom van. I received it. , high speed skimmer support van, shop and fire system van. Participants also had an underwater demonstration on the floating pier, where they observed the SK0050 high-speed current buster and boom handling boat, as well as an oil containment boom configured for skimming operations. Participating agencies were able to assess their preparedness and strengthen their collective capacity to reduce environmental damage and protect public health.
“This exercise demonstrates our commitment to environmental stewardship and demonstrates the collaboration between the U.S. Navy and host nation partners like us,” said Capt. Aref Al Awadi, MEMAC’s senior oil spill response officer. This will help promote communication.” This is an important exercise to help ensure you are prepared to respond effectively to oil spills and other hazardous materials incidents. ”
The equipment deployment schedule was structured to comply with the training and training requirements of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA-90) National Response Training Program (NPREP) for skimmer, containment system deployment, and training of ESSM personnel. NPREP is a voluntary program developed for spill responders to provide a mechanism for compliance while being economical to implement and maintain. Completing the NPREP exercise satisfies all federal petroleum pollution response exercise requirements mandated by OPA-90.
“Learning response procedures from a manual is a solid start, but applying these procedures in a real-world environment in real time is what truly improves a team’s capabilities,” said NSA Bahrain Commander Zakaria. Captain Appelauchi said. “I am extremely proud of our team’s coordination and execution of this oil spill response exercise demonstrated in front of the representatives of the Kingdom of Bahrain. It’s proof.”
NSA Bahrain’s mission is to support U.S. and coalition maritime operations throughout the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations by providing security for ships, aircraft, and tenants of NSA Bahrain and assigned detachments. . NSA Bahrain provides efficient and effective ground services to sustain our fleet, strengthen our warfighters, and support our families with honor, courage, and dedication. For more news from NSA Bahrain, visit https://www.dvidshub.net/unit/USNSA-B.
Obtained data: | November 14, 2023 |
Post date: | November 14, 2023 02:48 |
Story ID: | 457750 |
position: | manama, virginia |
Web view: | 62 |
download: | 0 |
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This work, NSA Bahrain, NAVSEA conduct oil spill trainingby Ameera Al-Kuhejidentified by DVIDSsubject to the restrictions set forth at https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.