Oil spill responders in Port Angeles and Neah Bay were put to the test Monday morning in a surprise drill initiated by the Department of Ecology and the Marine Spill Response Corp.
The drills tested communications among workers as well as their ability to perform operations such as setting booms and other procedures, said Curt Hart, spokesman for the Department of Ecology.
Many of those drilled are backup personnel.
Front-line responders for Marine Spill Response Corp. have been sent to the Gulf of Mexico coast to assist with an undersea gusher that has unleashed 4 million gallons of crude after an April 20 oil platform explosion and sinking.
Hart said he wasn’t sure how many personnel specifically participated in Monday’s Port Angeles and Neah Bay drills.
Oil terminal
In Port Angeles, the drill centered around the Tesoro oil terminal on Ediz Hook, from where the huge ships in the harbor are refueled.
“Many, many ships coming from Asia or Alaska may fill up with fuel there, and because of that there are millions of gallons of fuel transferred over water in Port Angeles every year,” Hart said.
“So it is very important to have pre-booming set in case of spill, and when they do things like that, it is important at a fueling terminal for everyone to know their job and to communicate with each other,” Hart said.
“Being able to deploy quickly and effectively during the first few hours of a spill is one of the most critical elements of this.”
26 sent to Gulf
Marine Spill Response has sent 26 personnel to the Gulf region.
Global Diving is filling in for those who were sent south.
“Because of that, we need to make sure that the new people backfilling know their jobs, are communicating, know where the equipment is located and that it is all in an accessible area,” Hart said.
“We have had absolutely no reduction in spill readiness as a result of the aid being offered in the Gulf,” he said.
In Neah Bay, communication was primarily tested, Hart said.
“With the state-funded [rescue] tug there, we wanted to make sure people know how to contact the tug, when to contact it and what the most effective use of communication is,” he said.
Other areas that were put to the test included Anacortes, Bellingham, Seattle and Tacoma.
Marine Spill Response, a private, nonprofit contractor for 20 of the regulated oil handling and shipping companies in Washington, conducted the exercise. None of the companies involved or their contractors had prior knowledge of the exercise, Hart said.
An additional 50 drills are set throughout the year to test all aspects of readiness, said a statement from the Department of Ecology.
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Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladailynews.com.