Page 108: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (November 1996)

OIL SPILL TECHNOLOGY

Not Like In Rhode Island by Bridget Murphy, associate editor

A tanker spill in Portland, Maine, on

September 27 once again tested the maritime community's ability to interface with govern- ment agencies to effectively respond to an envi- ronmental emergency, and this time, there is some good news.

While Julie iVs collision with the Million

Dollar Bridge and the subsequent spillage of a reported 170,000 gallons of oil is a disaster which may have been prevented, reports from all sources have indicated that cooperation and teamwork from all parties in the response effort had a mitigating impact on damage to natural resources. "There's oil on the shoreline, sure. I didn't see any water fowl that was contaminat- ed to any extent. I saw plenty of harbor seals that looked fine. We're licensed wildlife reha- bilitators, so I was looking for that," said Artie

Baldwin, Environmental and Spills Operation manager for Trade-Winds Environmental

Restoration, Inc., a Long Island, N.Y., company "There weren't separate cells ...It was fully integrated. I credit that structure to allowing us to achieve an effective response. I give credit to the personalities of the people involved. All egos were checked at the door. Everybody rolled up their sleeves and was ready to work. " — USCG Commander Burt Russell whose five workboats provided overall assis- tance at the spill site. "It was not like in Rhode

Island," added Mr. Baldwin, in his synopsis of the injuries incurred by wildlife, as compared with those sustained from North Cape's spill.

U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Commander Burt

Russell, captain of the Port of Portland, told

MR I EN that the spill from the Amity Product

Carriers, Inc.-owned and Maritime Overseas

Corp.-operated vessel resulted in an exception- al response. "Folks from the R.P. (responsible party) were on-scene that night. The spill man- agement team and key players were in place early Saturday morning."

Cdr. Russell explained that positive relation- ships previously formed in Portland between

USCG, state and federal authorities enhanced the cleanup coordination, particularly when all were faced with establishing a working chain of command. In terms of "the variable that you don't have control over ... we got the joint com- mand post established and fully operational by 4 a.m.," said the Coast Guard captain. At this time, USCG, state officials, Fish and Wildlife reps and the R.P. were all represented, in addi- tion to the EPA and NOAA, whose personnel showed up Friday night to coordinate scientific

Maritime Reporter/Engineering New