Prestige: The learning curve
The sea recovery phase went rather well despite bad weather conditions and 52000 tonnes of emulsion were recovered as compared with only 1200 tonnes during the Erika spill. It is clear that in such conditions the windows of opportunity are short and either response units have to head for shelter or ride out the bad weather and endure much hardship both for the crew and vessels alike. As a result, when weather conditions permit, all response equipment and systems have to be very efficient in terms of deployment times, containment and recovery capacity and be as selective as possible when recovering oil. This requires reliable equipment capable of being used on different types of oils by skilled crews. All the response teams that dealt with the Erika gained a great deal of experience from the operation.
From the safety point of view, recovery systems must only require a minimum number of people for deployment especially as decks are often very slippery on account of the crude oil. Dedicated response vessels will also need to have a full range of systems that contribute to ensuring a powerful collection capability (oil heating system, settling tanks, HP hot water....) such that future response designs and refurbishment programmes will make a better job of integrating all the requirements for high sea operations conducted by response vessels. Ensuring success for high sea response operations is going to be contingent on implementing high standard response organisations, matching resources to the job at hand and supplying suitable and powerful recovery systems. The way the Basques geared their usual anchovy fishing procedures to dealing with oil recovery is an excellent example of adaptability (cf contra)
Having vessels on hand from the outset of an operation as soon as they are needed and even if weather conditions are not ideal will make a difference as they will be able to mobilise the oil which will not have spread too much and thus be easier to spot and pump. The French navy vessel Ailette, soon on the scene thanks to a very efficient international co-operation agreement, managed a much better « score » on day 1 as compared with her subsequent recovery attempts.
A Lamor brush skimmer, Dec. 2002.
A
Thomsea skimmer net, Jan. 2003.
First
conceived of during the Erika spill and much more fully developed
during the Prestige incident, the new two curtain or two phase
sea recovery concept came into its own. This involves deploying
requisite high sea response capabilities when the oil is still
far from land and then engaging in shore vessels and recovery
systems as the oil nears the beaches.
Pumping the slick with a Foilex skimmer,
Nov. 2003.
Photo source: French Navy, AZTI, Cedre
Last update: April 2004