MARITIME FIRE AND SAFETY ASSOCIATION
EQUIPMENT DEPLOYMENT DRILL Maritime Fire & Safety Association (MFSA) conducted an equipment deployment drill on Thursday October 3rd to demonstrate its ability to respond to an oil spill from a covered vessel. The drill was held on the Columbia River near Cathlamet Washington. MFSA’s contractors, Clean Rivers Cooperative and NRCES, deployed a variety of equipment to demonstrate the ability to skim oil from the surface of the water in a midriver operation. Equipment that was deployed included two workboats, three vessels of opportunity, a shallow water recovery barge and the NOFI Current Buster – a specialized piece of equipment intended to skim in a high current environment (see pictures below). Over twenty trained responders worked together to safely perform these on-water and shore side activities. These drills are evaluated by both Oregon Department of Environmental Quality and Washington State Department of Ecology to ensure that MFSA is meeting the requirements of each state’s regulations and following its approved Vessel Response Plan. For more information on the MFSA Plan, contact Holly Robinson at robinson@pdxmex.com.
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