The Office of Marine Environmental Response has published MSIB 23-20 to alert all vessel response plan (VRP) holders with vessels operating within the Oregon and Washington federal navigable waterways of structural changes to the area contingency planning construct and physical location of applicable Area Contingency Plans (ACPs).
4/11/2019: CMA Shipping 2019 – Industry oil spill response and salvage experts meet for panel session, “An accident, a grounding, a collision, oil in the water, fire, people missing, news helicopters overhead”
Capt. Ricardo Alonso, chief of the Office of Marine Environmental Response Policy at Coast Guard Headquarters, came together with industry oil spill response and salvage experts April 3, 2019 for a panel session titled, “An accident, a grounding, a collision, oil in the water, fire, people missing, news helicopters overhead – this is the stuff of nightmares” during CMA’s Shipping Conference 2019, in Stamford, Connecticut.
3/15/2018: Subchapter M regulations and marine firefighting requirements – A discussion from two perspectives
The Coast Guard will begin enforcing Subchapter M towing vessel regulations July 20, 2018, and it is important for tank and non-tank vessel owners and operators as well as towing vessel owners and operators to understand how Subchapter M may affect a towing vessel’s ability to be used as a resource provider in a Vessel Response Plan. To help our readers navigate this subject, Maritime Commons is publishing two perspectives in one post. The first post is written with the towing vessel owner/operator in mind, and the second post, immediately following, is written for the Vessel Response Plan holder.
3/13/2018: Activating a Vessel Response Plan
The implications of VRP activation are significant and a clear understanding is essential. Failure to activate a plan quickly or failure to use pre-contracted resources can result in delayed response and exacerbate potential environmental damages. In this post, we will attempt to clarify when plan activation occurs and which situations require plan activation.
8/18/2017: VRP Express and transition to Homeport 2.0
This post contain information from the Office of Marine Environmental Protection’s Vessel Response Plan staff regarding how the transition to Homeport 2.0 will impact the Vessel Response Plan Express feature, and recommendations for submitting VRPs during the transition period.
