US Oil Spill Testing, Response Facility Gets Major Upgrade
The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement’s National Oil Spill Response Research and Renewable Energy Test Facility, known as Ohmsett, has now reopened after undergoing significant refurbishment over the past eight months as part of BSEE’s ongoing maintenance plan. Originally constructed and operated by the U.S. EPA in 1974, the facility was passed to the U.S. Navy and then to the Department of the Interior’s Minerals Management Service in 1990. Today, it is the only facility in the U.S. conducting full-scale oil spill response research, equipment testing and training
ARA Taps Coolbaugh as Ohmsett Facility Manager
Applied Research Associates, Inc. (ARA) announced Dr. Tom Coolbaugh has joined the team as the Program/Facility Manager for Ohmsett – The National Oil Spill Response Research & Renewable Energy Test Facility. He will have oversight of the day-to-day operations, maintenance and testing at the facility, while ensuring facility users’ needs are met.Dr. Coolbaugh recently retired after 32 years with ExxonMobil Corporation, most recently as the Technology and Advocacy Advisor in the Emergency Preparedness and Response organization. His focus areas have included oil spill response tools such
Rovco Secures Funding for 3D Visualization Project
partnership with the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult, the first phase of the project will see Rovco develop the equipment and software required to produce live 3D data from challenging and extreme subsea environments. The technology will be trialed and tested at ORE Catapult’s renewable energy test facility in Blyth. Phase two will include the development of a complete 3D vision-based survey solution using Artificial Intelligence (AI). The technology could reduce offshore inspection costs by up to 80 percent, exploiting recent advances in both camera technology and embedded graphic
Oil Spill Response Preparedness and Proficiency Comes with Practice
The National Oil Spill Response Research & Renewable Energy Test Facility is the premier training site for spill response personnel. Training at the facility takes the learning out of the classroom and into the 2.6 million gallon wave/tow test tank. That’s where students receive hands-on exercises with the latest spill response equipment and techniques used in the field. Over the past 20 years, in partnership with Texas A&M University National Spill Control School (NSCS), Ohmsett has offered a hands-on oil spill response curriculum designed to provide response personnel
MTR100: Ohmsett
Managed by the U.S. Department of Interior’s Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement’s (BSEE), Ohmsett – The National Oil Spill Response Research and Renewable Energy Test Facility is part of its oil spill research program ensuring the best and safest oil spill detection, containment and removal technologies are available to protect the U.S. coastal and ocean environments. The facility is maintained by MAR (MD) LLC through a contract with BSEE. At Ohmsett, research and testing is conducted in a realistic setting to produce the most accurate and reliable results generally
Delia Succeeds Schmidt as Ohmsett Program Manager
MAR Incorporated has named John Delia the Program manager for Ohmsett – The National Oil Spill Response Research & Renewable Energy Test Facility, succeeding Bill Schmidt who retired in December 2015. Delia was most recently with BAE Systems where he served as a Program Manager responsible for the production and development of systems as well as the logistics for the Low Probability of Altimeter (LPIA), Common Data Link (CDL) and F-22 product lines within the Electronic Systems group. Prior to working at BAE systems he served as a Senior Engineer with Northrop Grumman supporting the
BSEE's Ohmsett Facility Receives US$4-Million Grant
The funds allocated to BSEE will provide for infrastructure resiliency improvements at the bureau's national oil spill response research and renewable energy test facility, Ohmsett, located at Naval Weapons Station Earl in Leonardo, N.J. The Ohmsett facility includes the nation’s largest saltwater tank used for testing oil removal technologies, providing unique research and applied training capabilities. After Hurricane Sandy, BSEE quickly worked to complete a thorough damage assessment of the facility and complete necessary repairs in order to return it to operational status. This project
February 2024
