A total of 1,400 professionals attended the Interspill 2006 event in London
making it the biggest event of its kind held outside of the United States. With
state-of-the art advances in spill clean-up technology for both offshore,
coastal and inland sectors on show, and a comprehensive programme which covered
a diverse range of topical subjects, the event drew delegates from a total of
71 countries and 117 exhibitor companies.
One of the most popular subjects at the Interspill conference was a ‘Hot Topic’ session run by the U.S. Coastguard devoted to Hurricane Katrina. This covered
many different aspects of the most devastating storm to hit the north-central
Gulf Coast in recorded history. The hurricane paralysed the ports, waterways,
marine transportation-related industries and vital oil and gas infrastructure
throughout southeastern Louisiana and offshore, requiring an unprecedented
emergency response to six major, four medium and134 minor oil spills. The
experiences gained from the storm and its repercussions provided the session
with outstanding first-hand knowledge of the subject, and gave a remarkable
insight into what was required to deal logistically with an incident of truly
global proportions.
Dynamic Plenary Session setting new standards
Day 1 set a high standard for the whole event, kicking off with a dynamic
plenary session featuring opening remarks from the UK
’s Secretary of State for Transport, The Rt.Hon. Alistair Darling MP, as well as
a keynote address by Michael Grey of Lloyds List. The panel session focused on
how global changes in energy use, oil exploration, production and
transportation are influencing aspects of legislation, loss prevention and
spill response preparedness. Other conference tracks focused on Marine
transportation, Exploration
& Production, Science, Inland Spills, Waste Management and Wildlife.
Conference Chairman Archie Smith commented, “At a time when oil spills are not in the news it is encouraging to see the
commitment of industry and governments working together internationally to
tackle this important issue. The conference attendance far exceeded our
expectations both in the number of people, the different countries and the
quality and interest of the delegates. The programme tacked some difficult
issues and has a legacy for the future conferences to continue to address
”.
Highlights of the show included the presence of the R/V ARCA vessel moored
alongside the venue. This oil recovery and research vessel is one of the most
advanced oil clearance vessels in the world, and is also able to undertake a
wide range of hydrographic surveys. Visitors were able to go aboard the vessel
throughout the show to see demonstrations of its capabilities.
A further success were the educational short courses run the day before the
exhibition and conference started, covering subjects including an introduction
to oil spill response, advanced oil spill response and the oil pollution
compensation range.
