Major counter-pollution exercise testing response to large oil spill

A training exercise is taking place in the North Sea to test how well prepared the UK is for dealing with a major oil spill.

The counter-pollution exercise in Aberdeen involves hundreds of metres of equipment, a small flotilla of vessels and about 50 people from various organisations.

The three-day event, which is being led by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA), is the biggest such exercise of 2023.

Those taking part will deal with scenarios such as a theoretical spill of 750 tonnes of oil close to the coast.

Kit being used during the exercise includes booms to limit the spread of pollutant, equipment known as skimmers to suck it up, and a huge storage bag to hold it ready for disposal.

MCA chief executive Virginia McVea said: “As well as honing our capability and spotting any gaps, the exercise is a clear demonstration of how well prepared we are as a country to protect our offshore habitats, coastline, economy and communities from pollution at sea.”

No real oil or real dispersant spray will be used during the exercise, which runs until Thursday.

Scotland’s worst oil spill saw around 85,000 tonnes of light crude oil end up in the sea after the Braer tanker hit rocks in Shetland in January 1993.

The MCA regularly trains across the UK to prepare for potential threats such as inadvertent oil and chemical discharges as the problems posed by plastic and natural products.

Representatives from the Port of Aberdeen, the Marine Directorate of the Scottish Government, and oil spill response organisations from across the UK are among those taking part in the event.

Stan Woznicki, the MCA’s head of counter-pollution and salvage, said: “Major training exercises such as these are key components of a wider training programme as they familiarise the teams with the considerable size and complexity of the response equipment, as well as the number and diversity of the personnel needed to deliver an effective response.

“Where delivery of response must be delivered quickly, this experience is crucial.”

The MCA’s counter-pollution and salvage team’s remit is UK-wide and can range from dealing with large-scale emergencies requiring the mobilisation of extensive national resources to tailored response support to smaller incidents where the national specialist capability is needed.

The UK’s protection is provided from three equipment bases situated in Barnsley, Dundee and Bristol.