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ADNOC OIL SPILL RESPONSE TRAINING COURSECONTINGENCY PLANNING FOR OIL SPILLS
1. INTRODUCTION
Careful planning is an essential preparation for any successful operation andparticularly so in an emergency situation such as an accidental spillage of oil. Manypeople may be affected by an oil spill and many organisations may become involved
before the incident is closed. There is often concern for the effects on industry andthe environment as well as concern for public health where desalination plants arethreatened. There will inevitably be conflict of interests ani the media are always
quick to expose any indecision, weakness or disagreement. A well prepared andtested contingency plan, while not offering a guarantee of a "successful" response
to all oil spill incidents, undoubtedly makes such situations easier to resolve.
Contingency plans for the Petroleum Ports Authority have been prepared for
Ruwais/Jebel Dhanna, Das Island, Zirku and Umm Al-Nar.
They all follow the same format, and are divided into 3 main sections namely
Emergency (This section is a self-contained book) sub-divided into
articles 1. Alert Procedures
2. Internal Organisation
3. Communications.
Section 'A' - Overall Strategy
Section 'B' - Operation Plan
These are followed by section 'C' - giving brief details of training- and 'D' various statistics and information.
Section 'A' - Strategy
This section is sub-divided under the following headings into elevenparts, namely:1) Oil Spill Risks
This section briefly considers world data for oil spill sources and discusses withreference to the port in question:i)
ii)
iii)
iv)

Shipping routes
Fires ani explosion
Pipelines
Likely movement of spilled oil

The plan is designed to cope with a spill of up to 1000 tomes of fresh crude oil or 500

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tonnes of High Viscosity Fuel Oil.
2) Resources at Risk
The major resources at risk from oil spilled within a particular port area are listed
in the order of priority for protection of these resources.
For example, within the Jebel Dhanna/Ruwais area, the resources at risk and thepriorities for protection are:i)
ii)
iii)
iv)
v)

Intakes to desalination and power plants
Sir Rani Yas Island
Port facilitiesForeshore area
Sea area

Each resource is briefly described and the prohibition on the use of oil dispersantswithin 1.5 km. of any water intake is clearly states.
3) Evaluation
Spill evaluation or situation assessment looks at the information required for thisand the advantages of knowing the characteristics of the spilled oil.
The importance of aerial observation in the event of larger spillages is also
highlighted.
4) Strategy for Oil Spill Clean-up
This subsection sets broad guidelines for response to oil spills but it is not a cleanup manual. The importance of defending priority areas is again stressed.
The discussion on clean-up strategy continues under the headings ofResponse to Oil Spills at Sea and Inshore and Shoreline Response.
5-(1) Clean up strategy including liaison with Central and Local Government, Security
Aspects and Customs are discussed in these sections.

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Section 'B' - Implementation
This section spells out the actual response procedure to an oil spillincident.
1. Classification of Oil Soills - depending on their size Type from 'A' through 'D' and the response required.
2. Internal Organisation - giving the chain of command with function andresponsibilities of key personnel.
3.

Communications - a description of the ma.rine/airband radio communications
available and a simple line diagram of networkwith code names.

4.

Logistic Support - covers equipment available within the ADNOC Group, Contacts
and equipment outside the group but could assist, ard details of Regional andInternational Bodies that should be informed or could assist, especially in a Major
Disaster.
Section 'C' & 'D' are concerned with Training and tables, statistics, etc. and planof boom configuration in Ruwais Intake Channel.

N.B.

Update Contingency Plans continuously.

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CAUTION

Dispersants shall not be used without prior permission from the PORT OFFICER
or his Deputy.

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CLASSIFTCATION OF OIL SPILLS

1.1. In cases of pollution, oil souls will be classified into the following categories:"A"

Minor spillages which can be dealt with by the Port Officer using the resources
immediately available to him and without implementation of the Contingency
Plan.

"B"

A spillage which requires additional resources to those immediately available.

"C"

A spillage requiring the full resources of the ADNOC Group of Companies.

"D"A spillage which exceeds the full resources of the ADNOC Group ard which will
require outside assistance from other organisations.

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1.2

On receiving a report of oil pollution, the Duty Officer will immediately informthe Port Officer or his Deputy. The Port Officer will assess the seriousness of the.
incident in light of the information available and will either:i)declare the incident to be a Class "A" spillage which can be dealt withinternallyorii)

adjudge the incident to be in excess of the resources immediately

available to him and implement the Contingency Plan.
Once the Contingency Plan has been implemented, the Oil Pollution ControlOfficer (Task Force Commander) will declare the categorisation of the spillageand will later amend this categorisation if necessary.
An Incident Room will be established in the Port Officer's Office arid the Oil
Pollution Control Officer (Task Force Commander) and his Command Team will
manage the response to the oil spillage from this Incident Room.
After the spill has been cleared and the incident declared closed, PPA (inconjunction with the Response Committee), will compile a report together withany recommendations and will issue the report to all Port Users.

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OIL SPIlL TASK FORCE - ORGANISATION
2.

INTERNAL ORGANTSATIONPort Officer
The Port Officer or his Deputy represents the Petroleum Ports Authority and, assuch, statutory authority for the port is vested in his position. It is essential that
the Port Officer and the Task Force Commander maintain a close working
relationship during times of oil spill emergencies and that the Port Officer assists
the Task Force Commander in setting up his command team. The Port Officer willalso put all available marine craft and personnel at his port at the disposal of theTask Force Commander. Responsibility for initial notification of all parties
concerned with pollution at the port remains with the Port Officer or his Deputy
as listed in the Alert Procedures. The Port Officer or his Deputy will also notify
those parties when the incident has been declared closed by the Task Force
Commander.
Task Force Commander
In overall charge of all operations concerning the pollution response including at
sea and onshore clean-up.
Responsible for liaison with and the regular briefing of:a) Port Officerb) Manager - ADNOC Petroleum Ports Authorityc) Port Users and Local Officials in the form of the Response Committee
Response Coordinator(s)Responsible for carrying out clean-up operations at sea and on land. Reports
directly to the Task Force Commander.

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(a)

Directing manpower and machinery to required locations.

(b) Ensuring essential supplies are available e.q. fuel, oil, spare parts, rope,fittings etc.
(c)

Food and water available to workforce.

(d) Engineering/Maintenance back up is available.
(e)High priority vulnerable areas are protected.

(t)Facilities available to transfer recovered oil from dracones/barges totemporary storage areas.

(g) Supplies of dispersants are available.
Sea Response Leader
Reports directly to Response Co-ordinator, responsible for the effective
deployment of equipment at sea.
Shore Response Leader
Reports directly to Response Co-ordinator, responsible for operation of all onshore
facilities.
Salvage Response Leader
Reports directly to Response Coordinator, responsible for all salvage operations.
Logistics Officer
Reports directly to Response Coordinator, responsible for all activities of theLogistics Unit.
Response Committee
Composed of members from all operating companies in Jebel Dhanna/Ruwais area,representatives of local municipality Civil Defence, Police Force, Oil Field
Security, Customs and S.P.C.. If necessary the Task Force Commander will also
invite a representative from the Ruwais Hospital to attend. Function is to daily be
updated on developments, to review the effectiveness of the response, to provide

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restrictions concerning import of equipment, manpower and expertise.
3.

COMMUNICATIONS
A communications system dedicated for the sole use of parties involved inpollution response is installed in Ruwais Port Control Room.
The system utilises two frequencies and a repeater station - 155.2 MHz and 118.1
MHz - and allows 3 way communications between the Control Room, aircraft andport tugs/support craft.
Five portable hard sets and one mobile radio fitted in the Task Force
Commander’s vehicle complete the system.
All transmissions on 155.2 MHz and 118.1 MHz are automatically recorded forlater playback.
In major incidents, the number of stations using the system can be high and alltransmissions should be clear and concise. Call signs which will identify key
personnel are shown on the communications chart.

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