damage to birds or marine life on the coast of the UK, or where an offshore operator considers it necessary for safety reasons.
4.6 This opinion was affirmed by Lord Donaldson in his Inquiry into the prevention of pollution from merchant shipping entitled "Safer Ships, Cleaner Seas" presented to Parliament in May 1 994. Paragraph 21.84 states:
"We have concluded, after much discussion and careful consideration of the costs that it is right to retain an aerial spraying capacity for dispersants as the front line of defence for the United Kingdom against pollution by oil."
4.7 Because speed of response is essential (most oils form emulsions which are not amenable to dispersants after 48 hours) the MPCU has developed aerial dispersant spraying as its first line response and has, under contract, dedicated dispersant spraying aircraft with a capacity to treat 14,000 t of oil in 48 hours. These dispersant spraying aircraft are directed and controlled during spraying operations by 2 contracted aircraft equipped with sideways looking radar and infra-red and ultra-violet line scanners.
4.8 Scientific evidence has shown that in most cases the biological impact of an oil spill is temporary and that biological systems will recover in time; the length of the recovery time will vary according to the type of system that has been impacted. The MPCU and other interests concerned, including the Fisheries Departments and the Nature Conservancy Organisations, will consider whether or not the oil is likely to damage fisheries, seabirds, ecologically sensitive areas or amenity beaches. If not, the oil may be left to disperse naturally. Where damage is likely to occur, the prospect of successful treatment to disperse the oil must be balanced against both the environmental consequences of the dispersed oil being distributed throughout the water column rather than remaining on the surface, and the cost of operations.
B. Overview of oil spill response operations in major oil spill incidents such as the SEA EMPRESS in its incipient stage to end of operations. Some lessons learnt.
1.0 SEA EMPRESS Incident (Extract from Chief Executive's Report)
1.1 "The SEA EMPRESS incident was the third largest oil spill in UK waters (after TORREY CANYON, 1967, 119,000 t and BRAER, 1993, 84,000 t) when it spilt over 72,000 t of Forties Crude when she grounded at Milford Haven, UK, on 15 February 1996. It demonstrated the successful implementation of the UK's National Contingency Plan. The resources needed to deal with the oil pollution were quickly mobilised and were available where and when they were needed. They included about 1,100 people. There is no way that an oil spill of this size can be prevented from doing environmental damage, but, given that inevitability, the response struck a balance between an intrusive- and costly - over reaction which might have done as much harm to the environment as the oil itself, and those measures necessary to give the environment a good chance of recovery, to enable the wind, waves and natural processes to play their part in removing the oil, while restoring beaches and fishing grounds as quickly as possible to those whose livelihoods depends on them or who use them for recreation. At no stage during the response operation were we hindered by lack of people or equipment. The Joint Response Centre was set up and operated according to plan. Given that the response to an incident like this can only rely to a certain extent on contingency planning - in the event most of the structures have to be set up ad hoc - I believe the overall response to the SEA EMPRESS will be judged to have been successful."
1.2 Some lessons learnt
・ Good contingency planning prior to the event encompassing liaison, planning, training and exercising paid off but a major event like SEA EMPRESS requires imaginative expansion of the basic plan.
・ The use of 446 t of aerial sprayed dispersant reduced the amount of oil arriving on the beach by a factor of ten .
・ At Sea recovery could take place alongside spraying operations but were very much costlier and less effective. Fishing boats with booms were used to collect and bring the oil from the shallower waters to the oil recovery vessels in deeper water
・ During aerial spraying operations it was most important to have a vessel in the area checking on the efficiency of the dispersant spraying by taking samples at differing water depths. Often the aircrew
