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Oil Spill Exercise Tests Naval Station Newport's Response Assets
Story Number: NNS130627-14
6/27/2013
By Bob Krekorian, Naval Station Newport Public Affairs
NEWPORT, R.I. (NNS) -- Naval Station (NAVSTA) Newport conducted a training exercise June 27 to test the reactions of the installation's spill response team to a simulated major oil spill caused by a fuel barge hull that ruptured after hitting Pier 2.
The exercise scenario called for a private contractor to deliver fuel to a Navy destroyer berthed at the pier when the barge gets out of control and rams the pier, punching a hole in its hull.
As a significant amount of oil product begins to spill into the bay, notifications are made to NAVSTA command, and the installation's spill response team made up of personnel from Port Operations, Environmental, and Fire and Emergency Services.
The seriousness of the accident prompts the activation of the installation's emergency operations center (EOC) at 8 a.m.
With the EOC manned up with members of the command's incident management team (IMT), initial assessments were made to determine how to manage the incident and control the spread of the oil.
"Our initial assessment based on communications from the incident commander on the scene was that three of the barge's eight tanks were compromised and leaking oil following the collision," said Dave Dorocz, environmental department civilian director.
The amount and spread of the spill into the waters surrounding the pier prompted a notification for assistance to the office of the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), Sector Southeastern New England, Woods Hole, Mass.; and the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (RIDEM).
A fire boat from the city of Warwick, R.I. participated in the exercise providing air quality reports to the EOC. The reports determined the air quality to be safe.
The addition of USCG resources and RIDEM assets enabled the establishment of a Unified Command structure within the EOC that provided the installation with more resources to respond to the spill.
"The unified command structure allowed us to access the Oil Liability Trust Fund for funding and resources to protect the environment and keep the waterways open," said Lt. Cmdr. Frank DelRosso, Incident Management Division Chief, USCG, Woods Hole, Mass.
Periodic updates every 30 minutes from IMT section chiefs and USCG and RIDEM representatives provided Capt. Douglas W. Mikatarian, commanding officer, Naval Station Newport, with pertinent information about the progress being made to manage the incident.
"This was an excellent opportunity for us to work beyond what we're used to and train using the unified command approach to an incident," Mikatarian said.
"Normally we work within our Navy framework, exercising our mutual aid ties with our community partners, but staying within a Navy structure where we retain most of the assets and authority," he said.
"By drilling with both the U.S. Coast Guard and the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, we had the opportunity to learn their methods of assistance, what assets they would bring to the scene, and how coordination was done within theoir chains of command," Mikatarian said.
Port Operations personnel deployed oil control booms on the waters near the pier to mitigate the spread of the oil to the shoreline.
Boom was also deployed near Rose Island, an island in Narragansett Bay, to mitigate environmental damage to a known piping plover population there.
"Coupling a live on water booming response to the drill proved our capacity to protect our sensitive area from the spill," said John Bozeman, installation training coordinator.
"This was a great opportunity for us at RIDEM to see what the Naval Station does to manage an environmental incident," said Jim Ball, RIDEM emergency response coordinator.
Mikatarian's action priorities for members of the IMT guided their efforts in managing the incident. They were: stop the oil spill at the source, control the spread of the oil, remove the oil from the water, control the shoreline impact, and keep the public informed.
An estimated 40,000 gallons of fuel spilled from the barge into Coddington Cove near Narragansett Bay.
"This drill provided the opportunity for NAVSTA to fully test its ability to respond to a major on the water oil spill," said Bozeman.
"The participation of the Coast Guard and Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management enabled the formation of a Unified Command structure that would be required by a spill of this magnitude," he said.
For more news from Naval Station Newport, visit www.navy.mil/local/nsnewport/.