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Russian Emergencies Ministry Stages Oil Spill Drill in Sakhalin

Posted on: Friday, 15 July 2005, 12:01 CDT

Text of report by Russian Ren TV on 15 July

[Presenter] The Emergencies Ministry's units have carried out a large scale exercise at sea in Russia's Far East. Heads of municipal administrations and major oil companies' executives were shown what measures are to be taken in case of an emergency at sea - oil tanker disaster causing an oil spill. The emergency situation was modelled by the [Emergencies Ministry's] experts on the recent accident in Sakhalin when a large sea vessel run ashore in the port of Kholmsk [on 8 September 2004].

[Correspondent] For an hour and half sirens were wailing and the Emergencies Ministry's helicopters were hovering in turns in the air above the harbour of the Korsakov port. The pilots were evacuating the victims, while fire-fighting vessels were extinguishing blaze on the tanker. Rescue teams have to face such emergencies most often.

[Lt-Gen Viktor Kapkanshchikov, captioned as head of the Emergencies Ministry's Far Eastern regional centre] A refrigerator [vessel] caught on fire in the Bering Sea 700 km off Petropavlovsk- Kamchatskiy - we planned to send there an aircraft as early as 0400 to fight the blaze, but they [local emergencies services] managed to do it themselves.

[Correspondent] Commanders of the Far Eastern emergencies services had invited managers of major oil companies. It is not just a spectacular show for them. The Emergencies Ministry's units are potential partners for the oil projects. All foreign companies activities are based on the principle: Security above everything.

[Lynd Bredford, captioned as emergency measures coordinator with an oil company, name spelling on the basis of Russian transliteration, correspondent's voice-over] We spend a lot of money on security. We get in contact with the Emergencies Ministry literally every day to coordinate various activities. We have a rescue service of our own equipped with the most up-to-date facilities.

[Correspondent] The ministry's staff agree that most of [oil] companies employ qualified emergency experts, but their experience is enough just to respond to local emergencies. So, the Emergencies Ministry and oil companies will soon have to reconsider their partnership.

[Col Nikolay Smirnov, captioned as head of the Russian Emergencies Ministry service in Sakhalin Region] It will be more beneficial for an oil company to enter partnership or draw a contract with a structure which will come to help it rather than create and maintain emergency services of its own to ensure the oil company's security.

[Correspondent] Consequences of the supposed oil spill were dealt with by the Emergencies Ministry students. The work was put down as a qualification exam.

[An unidentified instructor addressing the students] Do it well, show what you can do, get out [of the sea] and that's all.

[Correspondent] In 40 minutes the would-be emergencies officers are to deploy pontoon barriers around the imaginary oil spill to prevent the oil from spreading all over the harbour and manually gather the oil on the beach.

[Video shows Emergencies Ministry helicopters hovering above the harbour, a surface-effect ship, rescue teams and students in working outfit and gas masks].

Source: BBC Monitoring Former Soviet Union

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