Cienaga, December 19, 2016
On December 14th, Drummond Ltd. participated in a drill exercise. Ecopetrol requested support from Drummond Ltd., to attend an alleged naphtha spill from the STI Brooklin vessel, where a fire drill was also simulated, the company activated its contingency plan for the simulated emergency presented in the Pozos Colorados sector, involving the entities that compose the Mutual Help Plan in that area of the Port.
Thanks to the quick response from the company’s emergency group leaders, as well as the other participating entities there was a timely response. Ecopetrol gave notice and consolidated the support before the incident, and the development of the exercise was a success. The other participating entities included the National Maritime Authority, DIMAR, the Ports Captaincy for Santa Marta, the Santa Marta Risks and Disaster Management District Council, the Magdalena Risk and Disaster Management Control Departmental Council, the Civil Defense, the National Police, the Coastguard Fire Department, the ANLA, and the Port Society among others.
Drummond remained on alert before the requests to provide support. In this way, the company availed a trained group of emergency leaders, a tugboat, two motor boats, and a bongo with spill containment equipment, elements that were used in the notification of the alleged presence of a naphtha spill.
Around 10:30 a.m., the Michael T tugboat arrived with the TS 181 Bongo to provide support and control the alleged spill, as well as to avoid the expansion of the slick. Finally, at 11:00 a.m., the drill was completed and the alleged containment and evaporation of the slick was confirmed in its entirety, without any damages to the fauna or any ecological effects in the sector.
The contribution from the entities, as well as the coordination of the equipment and mobilization of the resources was essential to measure the ability to respond during an emergency. Afterwards, improvement opportunities were reviewed.
“To participate in this type of activities allows us to continuously improve our way of attending emergencies, not only in neighboring ports but also maintaining a safe operation in our own port with a highly trained personnel and the adequate equipment. As a result, the exercises where Drummond’s involvement is requested, we highlight the importance of our communication, coordination, and the safe operation of our equipment, which demonstrate our personnel’s high level of preparedness”, declared Javier Jacome, Operations Superintendent at Drummond Ltd., and person in charge of incident command during the drill.
Drummond Ltd. will continue being involved in the Mutual Help Plan anytime that it is needed to guarantee the safety of the zone and of its communities.
