Why the Gulf needs a central command unit to tackle emergencies
Specialist Robin Perry argues the case for a speedy, unified response
There is an urgent need for a centralised oil spill response centre in the Arabian Gulf region, according to leading specialist Robin Perry.
Perry looks forward to a time when a single phone call could mobilise all the necessary men and machines in a concerted effort to tackle even the biggest incident without losing precious time.
He was echoing the sentiments of RECSO Chairman Khamis Bu Amim, who is committed to seeing such a centre become a reality.
Says Perry, one of the speakers at the Offshore Arabia Conference: “From my discussions with a number of oil companies and with RECSO, it is clear there is a need for a regional response centre to fill in the capability gap between the resources of individual companies and governments who by necessity take a number of hours to fly in to the area.
 “Speed of response is a crucial element in the fight, because oil spreads quickly, especially under the influence of winds and tides. The sooner it is tackled the better the chance of cleaning up.
“Up until now the work has been done on a co-operative basis of ‘you send this and that and you send the other…’ By then a lot of time has been lost. And sometimes the equipment might be in use somewhere else.”
“What we are advocating is instead they produce one centre so that anybody in trouble can make one phone call to RECSO or whoever who will respond with fully trained people and well-maintained equipment and the means to get it to the location - ships, aircraft etc.”
Perry, a former general manager of the BP Oil Spill Service Centre, now Oil Spill Response Ltd., is currently with O’Brien’s Oil Pollution Services in the UK.
He would also like to see more synergy between the industry organisations such as RECSO and the governmental ones such as the Marine Emergency Mutual Aid Centre (MEMAC).
“MEMAC is inter-governmental and RECSO is company-based. They can be of great help to each other by combining their skills. MEMAC, for instance, can help in easing the transportation of personnel and equipment across national borders in an emergency. This sort of co-operation is something the oil industry in London has been pushing for a long time.
“There is no doubt that a major response is the responsibility of the government of the country. The national contingency plan is a government document and they have the absolute right to specify how the response is done.
“Say there is a really major tanker incident, even if the tanker belongs to one of the companies involved in the response, there is no doubt the government will be running the show. But the industry can still help, and organisations like RECSO can support the government’s needs.”
Perry has detected a significant increase in environmental awareness in the region over recent years.
“I believe there is a great willingness among the oil companies, which has increased over the past couple of years,” he says.
“But oil pollution is just one of the threats to the environment. There are land-based threats also. A lot of sensitive areas have been filled in, in the name of economic development, which is the primary driver of what happens in this region.
“Some years ago I was in Australia where they were planning a refinery at Botany Bay in what they regarded as a useless mangrove swamp. Today, that ‘swamp’ is called an ‘environmentally sensitive area’. That’s how attitudes are changing, and they are changing here too.” Mapping of sensitive areas is essential, believes Perry – but it must be updated regularly, and needs to be followed up with plans of how to protect them.
 “Only the governments can do the mapping, because we need to know what to protect first in case of an incident,” he says. “But we need to go a step further – how do you actually do the protecting and get the personnel and equipment there on time? There must be a laid down plan for this.
“Mapping in the region is coming along well, but the protecting part is not coming so well. This needs to be looked at. Maps of sensitive areas can be of great use to people coming in from outside who don’t know the area. But they must be kept up to date. There is no point in rushing to protect a ‘sensitive area’ only to find it is now a housing estate.
“Another vital point is training of company personnel. Over the years we have found that people who have regular training are better equipped to cope when confronted with a big spill, and they work better with the international help that comes in.”
Posted by Editor Offshore Arabia Magazine
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