High Seas 0il Spill Control of the Supervisor of Salvage, USN

ABSTRACT The Supervisor of Salvage, U.S. Navy, recognized since World War II as the Government's focal point for ship salvage matters, has taken on a new responsibility - the cleanup of Navy oil spills occurring on the high seas and elsewhere as a result of ship collisions, sinkings, strandings, etc. Types of equipment procured, worldwide prepositioning of assets, and operational experience gained to date in the program are discussed. INTRODUCTION With the publication of the first "Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan" in 1971, National long- and short range goals for water quality were established. Responsibilities for eliminating discharges and cleaning up oil spills were assigned to Government and commercial organizations alike. The Navy embarked on a vastly escalated environmental protection program in 1972 that reached a $200 million per year funding level in 1974 and assigned responsibilities for cleanup of offshore and salvage related Navy oil spills to the Supervisor of Salvage, U.S. Navy (SUPSALV). Because the Navy is a user and transporter of petroleum on the high seas, these spills are presently considered an inevitable element of its marine activity, in spite of the program's major emphasis on eliminating discharges and spills. The essence of this part of the Navy program was to procure commercially available oil spill control equipment, and set up a system for its-prepositioning, maintenance, and operation. This paper discusses the accomplishments and experience gained in the program to date. BACKGROUND While the parent organization's name has changed from the Bureau of Ships to the Naval Ship Systems Command to the Naval Sea Systems Command in recent years, SUPSALV has some 35 years of history associated with it. Originally established during World War II to direct the Navy Salvage Service (the U.S. commercial salvage industry taken over by the Navy because of wartime needs), SUPSALV has continued as a focal point for Navy and Government ship salvage matters, supplementing fleet assets with commercial salvors when necessary. When the Chief of Naval Operations sought a program manager for the offshore and salvage related portion of the Navy Oil Pollution Abatement Program, SUPSALV, because of a long history of marine experience, became the logical choice to assume such responsibility. Actually, pollution control has always been a part of salvage; however, particular emphasis was never placed on it, and necessary sophisticated equipment was never developed. With the escalation of the Navy Oil Pollution Abatement Program, a new reason for salvage developed, which further exemplifies the interrelationship between salvage and pollution control - Salvage as a means of pollution control. Historically, ship salvage has been undertaken either for clearing harbors and waterways, for the recovery of a vessel or its cargo for salvage value, or for post salvage failure analysis (as in the case of a submarine). As will be seen later in this paper a significant number of recent ship salvage operations have been conducted for the primary purpose of pollution control.