Emergency Response Service supports operators throughout emergency situations – OCIMF standard
In the most challenging situations, when response and accuracy may make or break the day, direct access to experienced and qualified experts can change the outcome of an incident.
DNV’s Emergency Response Service (ERSTM|) actively supports owners and operators throughout emergency situations, mitigating the effects on life, property and the environment in compliance with the new OCIMF standard.
DNV’s ERSTM fully complies with these new guidelines. Last year alone, it supported vessels in 25 major cases, mostly relating to ships or rigs that had run aground, been involved in collisions, suffered water ingress or experienced fires or explosions.
Guidance through guidelines and regulations
The OPA 90 legislation in the USA established in the wake of the Exxon Valdez oil tanker accident in 1989 and the subsequent MARPOL Convention require owners to have access to an emergency response service.
OPA 90 and MARPOL state which calculations should be done, but do not specify requirements for the kind of capabilities that emergency response services should have; their organisation, competence, assessments or tools. As a consequence, the various service providers’ capabilities have varied widely.
According to OCIMF, “The scope of services to be rendered is only described briefly and too vaguely to enforce a performance standard.” This was confirmed by a recent audit conducted by an oil major, which prompted OCIMF to create its Guidelines on Capabilities of Emergency Response Services.
In addition to ERSTM, DNV provides an Emergency Preparedness Service (EPSTM ) that helps maritime & offshore companies to enhance their shore-based emergency response organisation.
The EPSTM is delivered through:
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A GAP analysis of shore-based emergency response plans
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Role-play exercises for the shore organisation
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Tabletops, workshops and seminars
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Help to enhance the plans & tools.
Different ice load thicknesses, here represented by different colours, in the ERSTM model.
Source: DNV
