Company specializes in oil spill cleanup

GRAND ISLE, La. –– The Oil Pollution Act of 1990 was a move by the U.S. Congress to improve oil cleanup response time.

The Marine Spill Response Corp., headquartered in Herndon, Va., is a product of that legislation.

The firm operates oil response vessels to help clean up the oil spill in the Gulf.

The corporation has oil cleanup crews separated into regions around the U.S.

"Our region is like the Atlantic region, the Gulf region, and the California region," maintenance supervisor Noel Tirado said.

"We'll get calls in the middle of the night if there is an oil spill. The corporation will let us know whether or not we have to get a flight out, or if we need to take care of our own region," Tirado said.

"Since this is a major oil spill, we get everybody from all over. I usually cover the Atlantic region. Specifically, New Jersey," he said.

A seven-year employee, Tirado has been at Grand Isle, La., since April 21, the day after the explosion at the Deepwater Horizon rig leased to BP.

Tirado said the oil companies pull money together and distribute it to the individual cleanup companies when an oil spill occurs.

He said the money is distributed over the time that it takes to clean up the spill.

"This is an insurance to the oil companies that we'll be able to respond at a proper time to clean up their oil spills. Otherwise, they could be fined very heavily by the government," Tirado said.

The company uses oil response vessels and barges to contain the oil. Once the containment vessels are full, the skimmer is set down on top of the water to mark the oil.

Next, the ships will offload the tanks to bigger barges.

"Our job is maintenance, making sure that everything is gone," Tirado said.

"We have smaller boats that do near-shore cleaning because the bigger ships sometimes can't come near the shore," he said.

He said there are other oil response vessels that work with them, but none of them have the same equipment.

"The vessels we have are regulated by the Coast Guard, and have an inspection every year," Tirado said.

He said the crews wear protective suits and gloves just in case.

Crew members undergo monthly examinations to ensure they are fit to work. At least eight crew members are needed to operate the barges. Sometimes more are needed, depending on the size of the barge.

As long as there is oil in the water, he said, "We will get involved."