Oil spill exercise for the personnel of Port of HaminaKotka

There are several oil terminals in the area of the Baltic Sea, six of which are on the Gulf of Finland. Moreover, twenty or so oil tankers pass through the Gulf of Finland every day, so there is a real risk of an oil accident in the Gulf of Finland. Oil spill response in Finland is based on a model involving several authorities, where either the Border Guard or the rescue service is responsible for the response, depending on the situation. In the Baltic Sea area, only mechanical oil spill control is used, in other words the oil is collected, and no chemicals, burning or submersion agents are used.

In April, WWF organised an oil spill prevention exercise for the personnel of Port of HaminaKotka. The exercise involved putting on oil spill protection equipment, oil collection and the practical operation of the oil spill response group. The training day consisted of the theory part in the morning and the actual exercise in the afternoon at the Santalahti beach in Kotka.

The theoretical section discussed issues such as Finland’s preparations for oil accidents, the environmental impacts and health risks of an oil accident, occupational safety regulations and what to do in the event of an accident under the command of the group leader of the oil response forces.

In the practical exercise carried out on the beach, the participants were divided into two groups and group leaders were chosen for the groups. The group leaders then divided the tasks and took care of communications with the team leader. In the exercise, peat was used to mimic oil. In the imaginary accident, oil had washed ashore in several places, and it was collected with appropriate equipment. The event was also used for practicing the recovery of oilstained birds.

The training day provided the basic facilities to work in a volunteer oil spill response team. Any healthy person between the ages of 18 and 69 can join WWF’s oil response forces as a volunteer. Joining the forces does not oblige you to participate in the events. In addition to the basic course, WWF also arranges training for group and team leaders and for taking care of oil-stained animals.

Teemu Niinimäki, WWF Finland’s conservation specialist who worked as a trainer in the oil spill response exercise, points out that the prevention of major oil accidents is above all about co-operation between different organisations.

“The cleaning of beaches is very slow and can take months. All available resources are needed, and it is great to see that companies such as the Port of HaminaKotka also train their personnel in oil spill prevention. Of course, we always hope that the results of the training do not have to be used in practice,” Teemu Niinimäki says.