OSRL announces two new scholarships for 2025
Oil Spill Response Limited (OSRL) have announced two new scholarships for 2025. Launching the scholarships, OSRL commented: “At OSRL, we recognise the need to push the boundaries of oil spill science through targeted research that brings advances in response capability, decision-making tools, and furthering our knowledge on socio-economic and environmental issues. Working closely with oil spill research projects ensures that an element of “operational realism” is injected into those studies to produce
OSRL Podcast: Beyond bird washing: A deeper look at wildlife emergency response
Paul Kelway introduces this episode which explores some of the challenges in responding to wildlife emergencies. Our guest is Dr. Michael Ziccardi, a wildlife veterinarian with over 30 years of experience in oil wildlife preparedness and response. Dr. Ziccardi has been at the forefront of numerous wildlife rescue operations in the US and around the world. He currently serves as the Executive Director of the One Health Institute at the
Managing Plastic Pellet Pollution: A New Operational Guide from CEDRE
Plastic pellets are a significant source of environmental pollution when accidentally released. To address this pressing issue, Cedre has published a comprehensive operational guide aiming to assist stakeholders – including plastics industry professionals, policymakers, authorities, and field operators – in managing and mitigating both operational losses and accidental spills of plastic pellets into the environment. This guide “Plastic Pellets: Loss prevention on industrial sites and response in the environment” provides
Equipment Corner: Vikoma collaborates with Oracle Environmental Experts to trial newly developed nurdle recovery skimmer
ISCO corporate member Vikoma has been collaborating with Oracle Environmental Experts in the testing and development of equipment for the recovery of plastic pellets (nurdles) pollution. Following the UK Spill Marine Spill and Plastic Pollution Conference (11th – 12th June 2024), Vikoma and Oracle agreed to work together to develop solutions for the recovery of plastic pellets from water. Plastic pellet pollution can be split into 2 main forms: • Big spill events
OSRL’s Southampton operations relocate to the Southampton Preparedness and Response Centre (SPARC)
ISCO corporate member, OSRL has relocated its operations in Southampton to the new Southampton Preparedness and Response Centre (SPARC), located at Unit 2, Strategic Park, Comines Way, Hedge End, Southampton, SO30 4DA. The SPARC facility aligns with OSRL’s sustainability goals, incorporating features that reduce environmental impact while supporting the organisation’s readiness to respond effectively to oil spills. Andy Myers, Response Director said: “Our new Southampton Preparedness and Response Centre is
John McMurtrie, Editor of the ISCO Newsletter retires
ISCO Newsletter Editor, John McMurtrie announced his long-anticipated retirement from producing the newsletter. Since 2005, John has been the editor of the ISCO weekly newsletter consistently creating a publication that has been a tremendous aid in sharing knowledge and the latest news with the spill response community. John has tirelessly dedicated his time producing 958 editions of the newsletters with a readership in over 60 countries. The Board of Directors
FOUR SALVAGES IN PNG FOR PACIFIC TOWING
Pacific Towing (‘PacTow’) has been exceptionally busy with salvage projects in its home country, Papua New Guinea. Melanesia’s marine services and salvage market leader performed four salvages across three separate provinces in just two months. The salvages involved international fishing vessels as well as a domestic general cargovessel. Three of the recently salvaged vessels had run aground and another was adrift at sea. Two of the vessels were towed back
Vessels of Opportunity Pioneer Project in Brazil: A 5-year Critical Review and Lessons Learned
Pedro de Moraes Rego Martins, EnvironPact – [email protected] Adriano Ranieri Cervinho Viana, EnvironPact – [email protected] Pedro Rafael Nonato Perez EnvironPact – [email protected] Maíra Ventura de Oliveira, Equinor Brasil – [email protected] Suely Ortega, Shell Brasil – [email protected] Stephanie Dexheimer Caplan, EnvironPact – [email protected] Caroline Garcia da Cruz Canellas, EnvironPact – [email protected] ABSTRACT The Mar Atento Project was designed and implemented with the objective of engaging and training the Brazilian artisanal fishing
New Milestone in the Regulation of Prevention and Response Control in Mexico – Creation of the Inter-Ministerial Commission to Prevent and Respond to Oil Pollution in Mexican Marine Zones
(Versión en español) Author: Carlos Sagrera, MSc. ISCO Representative Latin America (Spanish Speaking) In follow-up to the regulatory actions and Mexico’s National Contingency Plan of December 2023 (ISCO Newsletter N°930 – March 2024), the Government of Mexico confirmed the creation of the Inter-Ministerial Commission to Prevent and Respond to Pollution by Oil and Harmful Substances (HNS) in Mexican Marine Zones. In this case, it is understood that this Commission has
VIKOMA OPENS NEW OFFICE IN TANZANIA
VIKOMA has announced the opening of their new office in Tanzania and to welcome Mike Raymond to the Vikoma Team.Mike is experienced in the oil spill response industry and the opening of this new office will allow them to enhance their regional support for customers in East Africa.www.vikoma.com
Lamor Environmental Protection technology at Glacier Bay National Park in Alaska
Glacier Bay National Park in Gustavus, Alaska, is as a highlight of the Inside Passage and a part of one of the world’s largest protected areas. To protect this pristine environment, the National Park Service is enhancing its proactive environmental measures with support from Lamor’s advanced oil spill response technology. Glacier Bay National Park is a highlight of Alaska’s Inside Passage and part of a 25-million-acre World Heritage Site – one
ISCO participates in Conference Oil Spill in Operations Maritime and Port Terminals – Legal & Insurance Implications, in Tampico, Mexico
On Tuesday 25th June, a Conference on the subject of Oil Spills in Operations – Maritime and Port Terminals: Legal & Insurance Implications was held for the second consecutive year (ISCO Newsletter N°898 – June 2023) at the Club de Industriales in the city of Tampico, Mexico, on the topic of Oil Spills in Operations – Maritime and Port Terminals: Legal & Insurance Implications. The conference the Operational Aspects was
VIKOMA LAUNCHES NEW KOMARA MIDI SKIMMER WITH ONBOARD PUMP
The Vikoma development team has introduced the Komara Midi 2 Duplex skimmer which comes complete with a built in on board pump. This will become a favourite for operators as it is quick and easy to deploy … no need to for a separate pump and less hoses. Maintenance is easy too. By integrating the pump the unit has a smaller footprint than a skimmer with separate pump, so less
Lamor establishes a new rental centre and logistics hub in the Netherlands
Lamor has established a new logistics hub in Werkendam, the Netherlands. An extensive warehouse for oil spill response technology, covering the total area of nearly 3,000 square metres, will host an official opening ceremony at the end of May. The location will also include a Lamor customer service and sales office serving the Benelux customers. The new logistics hub is located 30 minutes out of Rotterdam, thus providing a swift
Readiness in Action: Inside OSRL’s Surface Dispersant Exercise
By Fagner A. Magalhaes and Jonathan Beaumont Dispersants are an important tool in the oil spill response toolkit. Their value stems from their ability to quickly treat large areas of oil pollution to prevent contamination of sensitive shorelines, which in turn, reduces risk to environmental and socio-economic resources. The use of dispersant, like any oil spill response technique, relies upon determining a clear net environmental benefit of the overall response
Brazil: OceanPact operation contributes to safe refloating of bulk carrier
In January of this year, the bulk carrier MV Caro ran aground with a cargo of approximately 175,000 tons of iron ore while maneuvering out of the Port of Açu, in the north of Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil. OceanPact, a Brazilian leader in ocean-related knowledge and services, which specializes in emergency response, was called in to assist with the ship’s refloating maneuver and the cargo transfer and relief operation.
Dynamic North-East Scotland professional recognised as future leader at global conference
A young north-east professional has been recognised as an Emerging Leader at a global oil spill conference taking place in New Orleans this week. Robbie Smith-Sinclair, 25, Sales & Marketing Co-ordinator with Oldmeldrum-based industrial cleaning specialists Sureclean, is attending this year’s 25th International Oil Spill Conference (IOSC), where he has been selected to take part in the inaugural Emerging Leaders Program. The initiative offers companies the chance to recognise their
Environmental Response division launched by global industrial cleaning company
Industrial cleaning specialists, Sureclean, has announced the launch of a new sub-brand, Sureresponse, a dedicated environmental response division signalling a renewed commitment to environmental sustainability and waste reduction. Building on a legacy of Seacor through NRC and its oil spill expertise, equipment and experience gained, including a remarkable track record of becoming the second largest commercial oil spill response provider in the world, Sureresponse is well positioned to continue to carry
ISCO speakers at IOSC
Ed Levine – Member ISCO CouncilTitle: Oil in the Sea IV UpdateDate Tuesday, May 14th – 3.30 PM to 5.00 PM Abstract: ISCO Council member, Ed Levine, will be both Facilitator and presenter on a Special Session at IOSC 2024 discussing the updated Oil in the Sea (OITS) IV report. Ed, a respected Oceanographer with many years of experience as a responder and manager at NOAA. He explains the purpose
Successful remediation of hydrocarbon-contaminated sites in Ecuador
Addressing environmental liabilities has become a concern in today’s industrial landscape, and Lamor has taken significant steps in this direction through a four-year contract dedicated to remediating sites contaminated with hydrocarbons in Ecuador. Challenge The challenge at hand was the remediation of hydrocarbons-contaminated sites, a task that required a specific plan to achieve the objectives. The soil at these sites exhibited a Total Petroleum Hydrocarbon (TPH) concentration between 40.000 to
