U.S. Navy Ship Salvage Manual Volume 6 - Oil Spill Response

S0300-A6-MAN-060Initial estimates of equipment requirements are based on spill size and the environment to be protected.As in a salvage operation, it is false economy and potentially disastrous to deploy too littleequipment to the scene. It is better and more effective to send too much equipment than too little.The correct procedure for any oil spill response is to order quickly whatever may possibly beneeded for the response.3-5 DELIBERATE RESPONSE OPERATIONSAfter the type and size of the spill have been determined, the command center located andresponse equipment mobilized, the typical spill response becomes several busy, simultaneouslyfunctioning activity centers. Emergent problems compete for managers’ time and limit the timeavailable to concentrate on recovering oil and minimizing harm to the environment. A challengein every oil spill response is to focus on limiting environmental damage and recovering oil. Thissection describes the activities that must receive attention, particularly during the initial phase ofan oil spill response. Figure 3-3 shows organizational relationship for a Navy-coordinated spillresponse. Figure 3-4 shows the relationships between various aspects of a federalized spillresponse. Figure 3-5 shows how the relationships can change when the spiller takes an active rolein the spill response.3-5.1 Spill Response Tasks. The initial goal of the response is to deploy resources to recover oiland minimize harm to the environment. Specific actions that can be accomplished separately orconcurrently include:Figure 3-3. Navy Oil Spill Response.3-11