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Project Number 586
Date of Summary June 5, 2008
Subject Planning Support for an Experimental Oil Spill in Pack Ice
Performing Activity S.L. Ross Environmental Research Ltd and DF Dickins and Associates
Principal Investigator Mr. Steve Porter and Mr. David Dickins
Contracting Agency Minerals Management Service
Estimated Completion Completed
Description The objective of this proposal is to join with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada - Center for Offshore Oil and Gas Environmental Research (COOGER) in planning an experimental oil spill in pack ice offshore Eastern Canadian in 2007/2008.
Progress The experimental oil spill was to be conducted by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) Canada offshore Eastern Canada in March 2007. The Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) was committed to supplying an ice breaker and helicopter as support vessels for one week as services in kind to the project. There was a storm off Canada that blew in the pack ice and trapped over 200 fishing vessels and between 400-500 fishermen. All available CCG ships and helicopters were mobilized to assist the fisherman. No lives were lost however the fishing vessels were trapped for over a month.

Since the project did not receive the promised vessels from the CCG, the oil in ice experiment did not take place. The earliest that the oil in ice experiment can be rescheduled in January 2008, however we do not have a date locked in yet. The date of the experiment will be based on the availability of CCG vessel support.

The earliest that the oil in ice experiment can be rescheduled in January 2008, however we do not have a date locked in yet. The date of the experiment will be based on the availability of CCG vessel support. DFO-Canada is working with the CCG to establish a window of opportunity to conduct the experiments in early 2008.

The experimental oil spill was conducted on a very small scale offshore eastern Canada in January 2008 without MMS involvement. This project has been cancelled.

 

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Last Updated: 07/28/2008, 01:35 PM

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