Developing oil spill containment readiness
The risk of oil spills in the Baltic Sea is significant due to increasing boat traffic. Due to its position at a busy marine traffic junction, Helsinki is located at the most precarious spot in the Gulf of Finland. At Turku, preparing for oil spills is made more challenging because of the Finnish Archipelago with its thousands of islands. Coordinating efforts is imperative.
Building a readiness dock and an oil spill containment depot will significantly improve the response times of both rescue departments in regard to containment measures made using boat equipment. They will also facilitate the efficient and systematic use of oil spill containment vessels as well as the storage, distribution and management of equipment.
Installing loops in readiness for anchoring containment booms along the coast will make the preparations significantly more effective and shorten response times in cases of environmental disaster. Investing in offshore oil spill containment booms and response vessels will improve the utilisation of the fixed containment rings in poor conditions.
The readiness of the rescue departments’ air response teams is an important additional resource. In cases of accidents at sea, the appropriate line of action is to call in personnel with specialist training to respond; in addition to rescue duties, they will be able to provide support to the Finnish Environment Institute in oil and chemical spill containment.
A collaboratively planned head trainer system based on professional personnel will reinforce congruent action cultures and equipment purchases, in addition to consolidating containment duties. The action model will also be available to other coastal cities. The opportunity provided by the cities for their own personnel to participate in oil spill containment training is part of their investment in protecting the Baltic Sea.
All planning will take into account the compatibility of these activities with the Finnish Environment Institute’s oil spill containment efforts and other rescue service operations.
Helsinki and Turku...
- Developing a collaboration model for cities and rescue departments with regard to preparation and rescue duties for marine environmental accidents.
- Preparations for building a readiness dock in Helsinki (at Vuosaari) and an oil spill containment depot in Turku (at Pansio).
- Planning and implementing the instalment of loops for anchoring containment booms along the coast to prepare for oil containment equipment, in addition to investing in offshore containment booms and new ship-class oil spill response vessels.
- Developing the activities of the rescue departments’ air response teams in order to respond to environmental accidents at sea.
- Developing the overall coastline cleaning system on the Gulf of Finland and the Finnish Archipelago.
- Arranging joint trainer courses for professional staff in the rescue department. Training city personnel in oil spill containment.
