Coast Guard Response to the V0lg0neft263 Oil Spill
COAST GUARD RESPONSE TO THE V0LG0NEFT263 OIL SPILL Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/iosc/article-pdf/1991/1/279/1743061/2169-3358-1991-1-279.pdf by guest on 26 September 2021 Capt. Thomas E. Fagoe Swedish Coast Guard Headquarters Stumholmen S-371 23 Karlskrona, Sweden ABSTRACT: On the morning of May 14, 1990, a collision occurred their being inefficient, but because experts claim that they harm the between the Soviet tanker Volgonef 1263 and the West German dry cargo sensitive environment of the Baltic Sea. ship Betty off the south coast of Sweden. One Coast Guard air surveil- lance aircraft and one oil spill recovery ship arrived at the site less than two hours after the collision. The Coast Guard considered the threat to the marine environment to The Rescue Law be serious and therefore ordered not only the most effective Swedish oil spill recovery resources to the place, but also requested assistance from According to the rescue law, a rescue leader should be appointed to U.S.S.R., F.R.G., Denmark, and Finland. lead any rescue operation. The leader has a staff to assist him, but the After less than 48 hours, 26 Coast Guard, Naval, and foreign ships full responsibility lies on his own shoulders. In spill accidents at sea, the were fighting the spill. The operation lasted for 13 days and practically regional Coast Guard commander or his deputy will serve as rescue all the oil was recovered before it reached shore. The operation showed leader. that using modern oil spill recovery equipment it is possible to recover The rescue leader has not only the responsibility for actions against practically all the oil at sea and also showed that international coopera- the spill, but also a very important legal mandate that allows him, for tion can be quick and efficient, if, as in this case, an agreement of example, to: cooperation has already been reached.
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