EMSA’s Pollution Response & Detection Service
Presented by Bernd BLUHM
Head of Unit Pollution Response1.

Introduction

The European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) is a European Community body established in the aftermath of the Erika accident for the purpose of ensuring a high, uniform
and effective level of maritime safety within the Community. The Agency has not a legislative role but provides the Member States (MS) of the European Union (EU) and theEuropean Commission (EC) with the technical and scientific assistance and the high level
expertise needed to implement the EU maritime safety and maritime security legislation.
Since 2004, the Agency plays an active role in the field of prevention of and response tomarine pollution. Following the Prestige incident, the Agency was tasked to:••Provide MS and the EC with technical and scientific assistance in the field of accidental or deliberate pollution by ships;
Support with additional means, in a cost efficient way, the MS pollution response
actions in case of accidental or deliberate marine pollution caused by ships.

Accordingly, EMSA provides operational support to the MS and the EC in the field throughthe following additional means:
a.
b.
c.
d.

2.

A European network of oil recovery vessels.
Setting up a network of chemical experts for assisting the national efforts in responding to Hazardous and Noxious Substances (HNS) spills.
A Satellite Monitoring and surveillance service the so-call CleanSeaNet.
EMSA experts service to second the MS and the EC during the marine pollution response operations as part of the central response co-ordination centre, on board the
EMSA contracted oil recovery vessel and/or through co-ordinating and gathering information either from the EMSA premises in Lisbon or on site.

Marine Transport and Oil Spills in Europe

In terms of volume, merchant shipping is the most important mode of transport toEurope and the rest of the world. More than 90% of European Union external trade travels by sea and more than 1 billion tonnes of freight a year are loaded and unloaded in EU
ports. However, this does not come without risk and significant effort is being applied toensure that, following recent initiatives, tanker accidents continue to decrease within anenvironment of significantly increasing volumes transported.
The Torrey Canyon (UK, 1967) accident marked the real beginning of public awareness of
the adverse impacts of oil pollution disasters in Europe, but not only there. The Amoco
Cadiz (France, 1978) later reminded people of the significant exposure of the EU coastline to pollution, and since then, numerous accidents (see table below) have demonstrated the continued risk of major oil pollution in European waters.

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Table 1: Major European Oil Spills >10,000 Tonnes since 1989

Year

Name of the Vessel

Tonnes spilled

Countries affected

1989

KHARK 580,000Portugal/Morocco

1989

ARAGON

25,000Portugal

1990

SEA SPIRIT

10,000Spain/Morocco

1991

HAVEN

144,000

Italy

1992

AEGEAN SEA

73,500

Spain

1993

BRAER

84,000

United Kingdom

1994

NASSIA

33,000Turkey1994

NEW WORLD

11,000Portugal

1996

SEA EMPRESS

72,360

United Kingdom

1999

ERIKA

19,800France2002

PRESTIGE

63,000Spain

The environmental and socio-economic damage caused by an oil spill is determined by arange of factors including the type of oil spilled; the amount and rate of spillage; theweather and sea conditions; the physical, biological and economic characteristics of thespill location and the effectiveness of response operations. Oil contamination can seriously affect mariculture, wildlife, amenities and the coastline in general. The overallsocio-economic cost of oil pollution disasters is difficult to assess, but runs into billions ofeuros.

3.

EMSA’s Oil Spill Recovery Service

3.1

EMSA “Top-Up” Pollution Response Resources

The environmental impact caused by marine oil spills is often very significant in both theshort and long term. Consequently, mitigating the environmental and socio-economic
damage caused by such events is a fundamental objective of marine pollution response
operations. Minimising the amount of the oil hitting the shoreline by recovery of thespilled oil at sea is the most obvious solution to this challenge and therefore it is in thisarea that EMSA provides its main support.

The primary responsibility to react to, and to co-ordinate the response to, an oil pollution
incident rests with the affected European Union Member State(s). As major spills frequently concern more than one country, various regional arrangements like the Bonn
Agreement (North Sea), the Helsinki Convention (Baltic Sea), the Barcelona Convention(Mediterranean Sea) and the Bucharest Convention (Black Sea) have been set in place to___________________________________________________________________________
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cover co-operation and assistance in such cases. EMSA provides an additional “top-up”
tier to these arrangements and to the Member States.
Pollution disasters on the scale of those in the table, including the most recent cases of
the Erika (1999) and the Prestige (2002), illustrate that individual coastal states can notreasonably be expected to have sufficient resources to mount an appropriate response bythemselves. Co-operation and mutual assistance is definitely required to deal with such achallenge as it is to respond to a major oil spill. Consequently, within this framework
EMSA provides its service and assistance. For major spills, generally the most appropriate response is to recover the oil at sea before it reaches the coastline, as this significantly reduces the environmental damage.

3.2

EMSA contracted Pollution Response Vessels

Experience acquired during previous major oil spills has shown clearly that mechanicalat-sea oil containment and recovery is the most appropriate technique for removing
spilled oil from the marine environment. To provide support for this type of activity,
EMSA has established contracts for at-sea oil recovery services around the European
coastline with commercial vessel operators. Given that the EMSA service is to “top-up”
available resources for major spills and for cost efficiency reasons, it was not seen as
appropriate to build or buy dedicated vessels to be on permanent stand-by.
The contracted vessels will, under normal circumstances, carry out their usual commercial activities. However, in the event of an oil spill, and following a request for assistancefrom a Member State, the nominated vessel will cease its usual activities and, at short
notice, be transformed into and operate as a certified oil recovery vessel.
Appropriate modification/pre-fitting to the vessels has been carried out in order to ensurethat the specialised oil spill response equipment can be installed rapidly onboard and be
operated safely by the crew.
Each arrangement has the following common characteristics:
•
•
•

•
•
•
•
•

The vessel will operate as an oil recovery vessel on the basis of a pre-agreed model
contract with fixed fees and conditions as developed by the Agency in consultation
with Member States for this purpose.
The contractor is obliged to react positively to all requests for assistance to respondto an oil spill, regardless of the spill location.
The primary oil recovery system is based around the “sweeping arm” concept withan alternate “ocean going boom and skimmer” system also available. The requesting Member State can select the equipment in accordance with the incident characteristics.
Each vessel has a speed over 12 knots for prompt arrival on site.
Each vessel is equipped with a oil slick detection radar system to facilitate the positioning of the vessel in the thicker oil slicks.
Each vessel has the manoeuvrability required to carry out oil recovery operations.
Each vessel is able to decant excess water thus maximising the utilisation of theonboard storage capacity.
Each vessel has the ability to heat the recovered cargo and utilise high capacity
pumps in order to facilitate the discharging of heavy viscous oil mixtures to shoreside facilities as designated by the Member State concerned.

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The individual oil storage capacity of the EMSA contracted vessels ranges from 1,800 m3
to 10,475 m3 and they provide a total increase in capacity across the EU network ofnearly 50,000 m3. The basic technical figures could be gained from Table 2.

Commercial
Operation Area &Equipment Depot

Tank Capacity
( m³)

Draug
ht (m)

Type ofthe
VesselBreadth (m)

Nameof theVessel

L.O.A
. (m)

Table 2: EMSA contracted Oil Recovery Vessels

1,800

84.05

13.72

5.30

2,005

74.90

14.00

5.70

6,936

106.20

15.99

7.17

9,889

105.00

18.00

7.92

10,475124.50

18.10

7.60

BunkerTankerBunkerTankerOil
TankerOil
TankerProduct
TankerBaltic Sea
Porvoo /Finland&
Copenhagen / Denmark(Max 2 vessels can bemobilised)Ile deBrehatCable
Repair
VesselAtlantic Coast andChannelBrest / France

4,000

123.90

23.40

8.01

Galp
MarineOil
TankerAtlantic Coast
Sines / Portugal

3,023

82.98

12.50

5.00

Forth
FisherGalwayFisherMerseyFisher
Bahia
Tres
Bahia
Uno

Product
TankerProduct
TankerProduct
TankerOil
TankerBunker
Vessel

4,754

91.00

15.58

5.10

4,754

91.00

15.58

5.10

5,028

91.40

15.50

6.02

7,413

99.80

18.00

7.00

3,800

71.01

15.60

5.80

SalinaBay

Bunker
VesselMediterranean Sea
La Spezia / Italy

2,800

74.70

13.10

5.53

MistraBay

Bunker
VesselMediterranean Sea
Valletta / Malta

1,805

86.03

13.04

5.19

Santa
Maria

Bunker
VesselMediterranean Sea
Valletta / Malta

2,421

93.1

14.5

6.82

Aktea
OSRV

Oil
Tanker

Aegean Sea
Piraeus / Greece

3,000

78.78

12.60

4.87

Tinka
BreezeOphelia
OtiliaTellus3.3

Atlantic CoastCork / Ireland(Max 2 vessels can bemobilized)
Mediterranean Sea
Algeciras / Spain(Max 1 vessel can bemobilised)

Oil Spill
Response
Equipment
4 Flex. Sweeping arms
2 Brush skimmers
2 Arctic skimmers
2 Booms (400m/500m)
2 Slick detection systems

2 Rigid sweeping arms
1 Weir skimmers
1 Boom (500m)
1 Slick detection system
2 Rigid sweeping arms
1 Brush skimmer
1 Booms (500m)
1 Slick detection system
2 Rigid sweeping arms
2 Weir skimmers
2 Booms (250m each)
2 Slick detection systems
2 Rigid sweeping arms
1 Brush skimmer
1 Boom (500m)
1 Slick detection system
2 Rigid sweeping arms
1 Weir skimmer
1 boom (500m)
1 Slick detection system
2 Rigid sweeping arms
1 Weir skimmer
1 Boom (500m)
1 Slick detection radarsystem
2 Rigid sweeping arms
1 Weir skimmer
1 Boom (500m)
1 Slick detection system
2 Rigid sweeping arms
1 Weir skimmer
1 Boom (500m)
1 Slick detection system

Additional Response Capacity for Europe

The EMSA service network now has resources based in the Baltic Sea, along the Atlantic
coastline and in the Mediterranean Sea. It is important to note that, independent of theirarea of commercial operations, all vessels are available to respond to a spill anywhere inEuropean waters.

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In order to maintain the quality of the at-sea oil recovery service, all vessels and crews
undergo regular equipment drills under the supervision of the Agency. To be able to work
under an international command and control structure, which is the most likely scenario
during a major spill, each vessel is available to participate in regular at-sea spill response
exercises. In the near future, it is expected that the network will be extended to theBlack Sea. The completed network will provide an effective “European tier” of pollution
response vessels for the protection of the European coastline. The map below provides
an overview of the available vessels and the geographical location of the associatedequipment stockpiles.
Map 1: Distribution of EMSA Vessels and Equipment Stockpiles

4.

EMSA’s HNS Response Activities

The level of preparedness and response capabilities to marine spills of hazardous andnoxious substances (HNS) differs between States. In addition, a general desire for more
information on HNS pollution response was identified among MS of the EU. Consequently,
the Agency prepared the EMSA “Action Plan for HNS Pollution Preparedness and Response” and implemented from 2007 and on.
EMSA’s activities are focused on ship-sourced pollution involving the release or threat ofrelease into the sea of HNS and initially concentrate on chemicals carried in bulk. Re-___________________________________________________________________________
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sponse actions to HNS carried in packed form will be addressed later. The planned activities and their implementation are a direct result of the analysis of the current status andare implemented in close cooperation with the EU Member States. The following topics
are being addressed in 2008:
•
•
•

•

•

Analysis and dissemination of statistical information regarding seaborne transportation of HNS in European waters. Further analysis of this information will provide aclearer picture of the current situation.
Establish and maintain a network of specialised HNS experts for advising and supporting the MS and the EC during the response to an HNS incident.
Provision and facilitation of substance-related data during an accident. The chemicalindustry in Europe is currently providing information on chemicals transported onland to most MS in the event of spills free of charge. EMSA is coordinating the extension of this service to marine spills and to all MS.
Develop a study to determine the minimum technical requirements for a “safe platform”, which has the capability of entering a hazardous zone for monitoring and recovery operations. Key to such a “safe platform” is the protection of the responders
and preventing an escalation of the incident.
EMSA contributes to the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) forum for oil and
HNS preparedness and response, namely the OPRC-HNS Technical Group by hosting
the newly developed IMO model training course on preparedness for and response
to marine HNS pollution incidents (entitled HNS Supervisor).

The proposed and current actions undertaken by EMSA cover a wide range of activities,
mainly focusing on the provision of HNS-related technical information and expertise. Future implementation will be developed in partnership with Member States to ensure effective implementation of HNS preparedness and response across the EU and in collaboration with our neighbours.

5.

The EMSA CleanSeaNet satellite service

EMSA has set up a high-performance satellite monitoring system for marine oil spill detection and surveillance in European waters to locate illegal discharges and to mitigate
the impact of accidental spills. The CleanSeaNet service works on the basis of near realtime analysis of ENVISAT and RADARSAT radar satellite scenes.
SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) “illuminates” the ocean surface and processes the backscatter signal. This signal contains information on the level of roughness of the sea surface. The dampening effect of floating oil films enables SAR sensors to detect oil slicks.
There are limitations to this process as sea roughness is driven by the local wind speed
and direction. Despite these limitations, satellite SAR imagery has proven to be an effective tool to detect oil spills at sea as it has the capacity to cover large areas (up to 400
Km wide swaths) day and night and is almost unaffected by cloud cover.
Oil spill alerts and clean sea reports are delivered to competent authorities in the Member
States and to EMSA in less than 30 minutes from satellite overpass. The short delay between detection and alert is essential for a rapid response of the Member States and tocatch a polluter in the act. Images and results of oil spill analysis are available through acustomer tailored web-browser.

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The CleanSeaNet service started operations on 16 April 2007 with 15 EU Coastal States,
most of which had earlier experience in oil spill satellite surveillance and thus were readyto join the service from the beginning. During the following months more States joined
the CleanSeaNet service and by December 2007 all 22 EU Coastal States and Norway use
CleanSeaNet for combating illegal discharges and monitoring accidental spills. The scenes
are provided to users free of charge.

5.1

Routine Surveillance for Illegal Oil Spill Discharges

From 16 April until 31 December 2007 a total number of 1513 SAR satellite scenes wereordered for participating EU Member States and Norway. A total of 1731 possible oil
slicks were detected in the delivered satellite scenes. In average 1.3 oil spills were detected in each scene.
How CleanSeaNet is incorporated in the national operational chain differs between
Coastal States. Some use aerial or vessel support each time a scene covers their waters,some make a case-by-case evaluation of the need to send resources on site. Planning
aerial or vessel support for ordered scenes is part of the national response chain and thisdecision is taken independently from EMSA.
Map 2: Detected and confirmed Oil Slicks in European Waters (April – December 2007)

The sea areas displayed in different intensity of blue are showing when the Coastal
States joined CleanSeaNet. By the end of 2007, most European waters are covered. The
red dots indicate each time a CleanSeaNet detection has been checked by national authorities and confirmed as being oil.

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5.2

Support to Aerial Surveillance Operations and incident monitoring

In 2007 CleanSeaNet provided satellite monitoring support to three Aerial Surveillance
operations that had specific coverage requirements and therefore entailed special satellite planning. The duration of these pollution detection operations varied between 36
hours and 10 days.
EMSA CleanSeaNet service provided satellite scenes also for four different marine oil spill
accidents in 2007. These included monitoring of two sunken vessels in Spanish waters,
one oil rig accident in Norway and the monitoring of the oil pollution cased by sinking ofseveral ships in Black Sea area during severe weather conditions.

5.3

Future development of the CleanSeaNet Service

6.

EMSA’s Pollution Response Expert Service

The next major technical development for CleanSeaNet is the integration of data on possible oil spills with ship detection and vessel traffic information for polluter identification.
This has been partially achieved in 2007 and implementation will continue in 2008.
Evaluation of numerical drift models to help locate the source of the spills detected byCleanSeaNet also began in 2007.

EMSA provides MS and the EC with technical and scientific assistance in the field of accidental or deliberate pollution from ships and supports on request, through the Community Mechanism, the pollution response mechanisms of MS.
The provision of expertise by the Agency can be characterised on the following basis:••On-site personnel providing support across a range of issues including equipment
selection and response coordination,
Personnel providing support as part of the central response coordination of the MS.

A request for assistance from a state affected by an at-sea pollution incident may include
requesting personnel with specialist expertise. The Agency is able to provide experts to
go to the site of the incident to assist the requesting state. The state affected by a major
spill can request the secondment of one or several EMSA experts. The types of secondment will be established on a case by case basis depending of the kind of assistanceneeded. EMSA experts will provide technical support to the affected State(s) either onsite or from EMSA’s premises in Lisbon. Experts may also act as “liaison officers” to arrange, if necessary, for additional assistance to be provided by EMSA i.e. vessels or satellite imagery.
Any country affected by a major disaster, inside or outside the European Union, canlaunch a request for assistance through the Monitoring and Information Centre (MIC) of
the EC.

Further Information

Further information on this and all the other activities of the Agency is available at
http://www.emsa.europa.eu.

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