Marine Services - TOSCA annual reportThames Oil Spill Clearance Association TOSCA Annual Report for 2004
Spill response and performance measures Hazardous and noxious substances – response to spills A guidance note for responding to spillages of hazardous and noxious substances has been written, approved and circulated to TOSCA members. The guidance note is included below in full: Hazardous and noxious substances The Port of London Authority (PLA) fully recognises its responsibility in respect of hazardous and noxious substances (HNS) as required by the OPRC-HNS 2000 Protocol. To this end, the PLA will: · Work in close co-operation with relevant berth operators, the Emergency Services, Local Authorities and other Agencies to ensure a common understanding and approach to HNS issues and incidents; · Provide appropriate training for PLA operational and support staff likely to be involved in a response to an HNS incident, in collaboration with Terminal Operators, where appropriate. · Maintain a detailed environmental sensitivity mapping capability to assist decision making and incident monitoring. In response to any HNS incident, the PLA will give over-riding priority to the health, safety and welfare of PLA staff and other personnel in the event of an HNS incident. It will also take the appropriate actions to: · Alert external organisations as required by the circumstances; · Maintain effective communication with port and river users; · Maintain overall navigational safety; · Maintain operational safety at the scene; · Minimising environmental impact and resulting damage; · Minimise the risks of escalation of the incident. Training and exercises During the year booming exercises were run in conjunction with Shell UK Ltd and Royal Docks Management Authority Ltd., and built upon the experience gained during similar exercises with BP Coryton, Vopak and ST services during 2002. These exercises are confirming that the principle of booming a vessel at a jetty during an oil spill incident is both feasible and practical. Jetty Booming Plans have been produced from the results of each exercise. It is intended to continue this methodology for the future, with consideration being given to joint exercises involving two or more terminal operators in geographic proximity. Inspections of the equipment inventory aboard barges ‘George’ and ‘Vital’ were carried out during the year. Audit of PLA oil spill contingency plan The PLA Oil Spill Contingency Plan was audited by the Regional Counter Pollution and Prevention Officer of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency during December 2003. A small number of issues on training and format of exercise reporting were highlighted by the audit for attention, which are being addressed by the PLA. The Plan is due for a substantial revision, followed by submission to the statutory consultees for re-approval during 2004. Significant progress has been made in translating the oil spill sensitivity maps, contained in Volume 3 of the Oil Spill Contingency Plan, to a flexible and intuitive geographical information system (GIS). This has improved the usability of the maps and will render future updating of the information relatively straightforward. This information will be available to all TOSCA members in the future, following final development. Contribution to the work of the Thameside Partners has continued, with representations from the PLA and BP Coryton. Members from Shell UK Ltd and Vopak also now attend to strengthen industry representation. A similar group has been established for the North Kent shoreline under the auspices of the North Kent Shoreline Group. The PLA is represented on this group. In line with the requirements of the MCA, a Standing Environment Group (SEG) was established for the Thames during 2003. The main remit of this group is to provide advice on environmental and ecological considerations during an oil spill clean-up operation. The PLA is also represented on this group. ‘Recover’ Following rectification in December of the intercooler defect affecting Caterpillar engines, ‘Recover’ has returned to high reliability. The new fender systems fitted at last year’s refit are proving to be a good investment. ‘Respond’ ‘Respond’ remains in good condition and 100% available for service but is due a minor refit in July 2004. The work will be undertaken at Denton Wharf to minimize contractor costs. ‘Vital’ The storage barge ‘Vital’ was refitted in autumn 2003, its first since conversion in 1993, at A&P Shipcare (Ramsgate). The unreliable Palfinger equipment crane was replaced with a fully marinised crane obtained from ACB Hydraulics. Costs for both the crane replacement and the refit were kept well within budget. Spill response and performance measures The TOSCA crews were called upon a total of 24 times during 2003. Response times were good and the new berthing and lift-out facility at Denton has greatly improved the access to deep water and ease of maintenance. The following table shows: - a) The total number of call-outs for the TOSCA vessels; b) The number of spills reported to the MCA; c) Occasions on which the craft actually encountered oil on the water surface (included sheen); d) False alarms where no oil was found to have been spilt; e) False alarms where a spill occurred but was contained either ashore or on the vessel deck; f) Other call-outs, for example standing by vessels in distress, safety of life etc. *In 1998 the ‘Arco Arun’ spill was attended over several days but was treated as a single call out. **In 2002 the ‘Asian Grace’ incident involved two call-outs, one attending the vessel inbound and one outbound. Although the number of call outs rose slightly the spills encountered were very small and the overall trend continues downward. 2003 is the first year in which there were no spills that required alerting the MCA. Year 93 part year 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 Call outs 28 81 53 40 25 25* 16 17 31 15** 24 Reportable spills 19 22 21 11 12 18 6 3 6 1 0 Oil encountered (including sheen) 19 37 28 21 12 19 9 6 12 6 9 False alarms (nothing found) 4 25 19 9 9 3 3 7 7 4 12 False alarms (eg spill contained) 3 18 6 9 3 3 3 3 9 3 1 Other call outs (safety of line etc) 2 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 1 2 2 Plant and Equipment Now that 24 hour deep-water access is available at Denton Wharf, the second storage barge, ‘George’, is to be taken out of service and the equipment transferred to ‘Vital’, or ashore at Denton. The remaining barge, ‘Vital’, will be moved from its mooring at Long Reach and relocated centrally on a mooring off Gravesend. A number of training courses have been arranged for the PLA, ranging from oil spill management courses provided by OSRL to operator level courses run either in-house or by external organisations. TOSCA is funded by a charge on every tonne of oil entering or leaving the Port. The broad objective is for the operation to break even over time. Actual operations in 2003 produced a surplus of £8,584. After bringing forward the surplus from previous years, the cumulative position at the end of 2003 shows a surplus of £14,184. No increase in TOSCA rates was made for 2004. Moving into the future, and following a period where rates had to be increased to stem deficits as volumes dropped sharply, we expect to be in surplus from 2004 onwards as lease repayments for the vessels tail off. By the end of year 2015 and based on current expectations, the surplus is predicted to total around £1.6m. However, such long-term future projections can only be indicative, at best, especially for income which is highly sensitive to throughput volumes. Also, no provision has been made for replacement launches or other major equipment needs. The current charge rates therefore continue to support the overall objective of a self-financing operation, and it is hoped that no increase should need to be imposed within the foreseeable timescale, given likely eventualities. |