Page 48: of Marine News Magazine (April 2012)

lations, demonstrates our customer's desires to continue to enhance response capability in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon incident." DEEPBLUE SPECIFICS MSRC has repositioned one of its 210 ft Oil Spill Response Vessels (OSRVs), now renamed the Deep Blue Responder, from the Atlantic Coast to its newest equip- ment site in the all-important, strategic oil services Port Fourchon, LA. A total of seven Responder Class OSRVs are now pre-positioned within 60 hours of the Deepwater Gulf of Mexico operations. Additionally, MSRC pre-engineered its five storage barges in the Gulf of Mexico as dedicated skimming barges. Staged from Ingleside, TX, to Tampa, FL, these barges have (on aver- age) approximately 48,000 barrels of temporary storage capacity, as well as newly enhanced on-board skimming capability. MSRC has also contracted with Edison Chouest Offshore (ECO) and Hornbeck Offshore Services (HOS) to modify five PSVs and MPSVs for potential use as OSRVs. MSRCs contracts with these two premier offshore operators recognize that commercial PSVs and MPSVs can contribute to effective spill response, if properly outfitted in advance with pre-engineered skim- ming equipment on board and if vessel personnel are trained and certified in advance to respond appropriate- ly. These PSVs and MPSVs vessels have each been equipped with permanently installed skimming systems,ocean boom and a boom-tending vessel. They have mod- ified below-deck storage capable of handling recovered oil, thus taking advantage of the significant storage avail- able on board these vessels, and providing for the safe collection of oil. MSRC has also made other program enhancements as part of its Deep Blue program. To enhance the ability of skimming vessels to locate oil, and to enhance the encounter rate for removal, MSRC has invested in X-Band and Infrared technology on each of the marine platforms in the Deep Blue project. This technology has the potential to better locate oil in low visibility conditions. In addition, MSRC has invested in an additional 65,000 feet of ocean boom to potentiallyexpand encounter rates through enhanced skimming techniques. Under appropriate and approved conditions, dispersants and controlled burning are equally important tools in a large-scale release. To that end, MSRC has increased the number of its dispersant spray and spotter aircraft to a dedicated total of six aircraft nationwide. Two of these planes are located in the Gulf of Mexico, which complement new Federal requirements and