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Salvaging Solutions to Abandoned and Derelict Vessels (ADVs) is an online webinar series hosted by the NOAA Marine Debris Program. The goal of the series is to help communities through sharing perspectives from across the country on common abandoned and derelict vessel issues and solutions. Each webinar features experts from federal, state, and local governments, nongovernmental organizations, universities, and industry, who discuss topics about communications, funding, policy, and successes and challenges under blue skies and storm conditions. To learn more please visit the Salvaging Solutions to Abandoned and Derelict Vessels Webinar Series webpage.
Oil and Hazardous Waste Issues
This Salvaging Solutions webinar focused on oil and hazardous waste related issues when addressing abandoned and derelict vessels.
Speakers
Doug Helton, Acting Regional Operations Branch Supervisor - NOAA's Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R)
Doug is part of the Emergency Response Division that provides Scientific Support Coordinators to the United States Coast Guard during oil and chemical spill responses. Doug is based in Seattle, Washington, but helps manage NOAA response efforts nationally. Doug provided an overview of OR&R’s emergency response efforts involving abandoned and derelict vessels. In addition, he provided specific examples of the transition from pollution response to wreck and debris removal.
David Jones, Chief Marine Science Technician and Federal On-Scene Coordinator Representative - United States Coast Guard
With over 15 years of service, Chief Jones has extensive experience executing the Coast Guard’s Marine Safety missions in critical ports in California, Hawai‘i, and Guam. He holds certifications for the enforcement of pollution prevention regulations of facilities and vessels, as well as for the operational oversight of actual pollution incidents, ensuring appropriate actions are taken to mitigate discharges of oil and releases of hazardous substances into the maritime environment. He is currently assigned to the Incident Management Division at Sector Honolulu, where he serves as a lead Federal On-Scene Coordinator Representative for a 1.4 million square nautical mile area of responsibility that includes the Hawaiian Islands, American Samoa, and remote Pacific territories. Chief Jones shared a case study of a particularly challenging incident involving the use of the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund to relocate the grounded vessel, Midway Island, and mitigate the pollution threat on board.