MARITIME EDUCATION AND TRAINING ACTIVITIES: IMPROVING OIL SPILL RESPONSE IN THE SOUTH BALTIC SEA REGION

Large oil spills, such as the ones associated with the “Prestige” and “Deepwater Horizon” incidents, are responsible for very significant environmental degradation. Globally, there is no country with enough resources and equipment to respond to an extremely large oil spill on its own. An oil spill on land is commonly considered a national issue/problem. In contrast, an oil spill at sea is usually of international character and will require outside assistance and cooperation across borders. This is especially true when special equipment that is missing in one country can be found in a neighbouring country.

The SBOil project (South Baltic Oil spill response) started in 2016 and will run for three years. It is a continuation of the research project BioBind within which an “environmental friendly” concept was developed to respond efficiently to an oil spill at sea. This concept is based on biodegradable oil binders (bio-binders) which are deployed by plane and then removed with a special net boom. Within the project under discussion, the concept of Bio-Binders will be assessed as a cross-border spill response tool in order to strengthen existing response capacities in the South Baltic Sea region. The aim of the SBOil project in terms of education focuses on two main objectives: The first one is to uptake a new spill response technology called BioBind and help associated staff to effectively use this new technique, as well as enhance training activities to strengthen existing cross-border spill response capacities. The second objective focuses on awareness rising in different administrational levels and the public regarding oil spill response in the South Baltic Area.

During the first two years of the SBOil project, a training handbook which summarizes basic knowledge about oil spills, response measures and structural approaches of the individual South Baltic countries has been produced. This handbook is intended as a guide/training tool mainly for local, regional and national incident managers. At the same time, a detailed report on the international legal framework for usage of sorbents in oil spill response has been developed.

Furthermore, in the year 2018 an international table top exercise will be developed and implemented together with project partners from Sweden, Germany and Poland as well as local, regional and national stakeholders involved in oil spill preparedness and response from the countries around the South Baltic Sea. The exercise will focus on operational aspects of using new and so called “green technology” in oil spill response. Outcomes of the exercise will be documented and used for future improvements in relation to emergency response management.