U.S. NAVY SALVAGE REPORT DEEPWATER HORIZON ... - ESSM

Chapter 7: Lessons Learned
• MARCO Class V systems were too widely dispersed to make optimal use of them. An
OSV with a crane and installed tanks was outfitted with repair and maintenance
equipment and personnel to make the rounds and service/offload the MARCO systems
throughout the Gulf. This concept was successful, but for future operations, where
MARCO Class V’s go beyond 3-4 miles out, recommend deploying the skimmers from
offshore vessels directly vice barges or on their own. A ship with this capability can be
rapidly vectored to oil locations and provide skimming crew with accommodations and
food, increasing usable skimming time and the safety of the skimming crew and
skimmers.
• During offshore skimming operations, small vessels with low daily recovery capacities
would often limit larger, more productive skimmer systems from accessing thick oil
patches. Recommend that vessels vectored to the heavy oil should be prioritized based
on capability, not organizational relations.
7-2 MANAGEMENT
• Planning was event driven as opposed to being objective driven. This resulted in
response strategy reflecting political agendas vice being technically sound. As an
example, one booming strategy insisted Mobile Bay was boomed across in a barrier
mode. However, the current was too swift and boom was destroyed. Had it lasted, it
would have been ineffective due to entrainment of any oil it met. In this situation, a
“deflect and collect” mode would have been successful. Recommend setting the
objectives of what needs to be protected and allowing technically informed personnel to
develop sound strategies to meet them.
Figure 7-1. OSV JOHN COGHILL conducting booming operations off
Mobile Bay.
7-2