The360report

Whether you are running a small vessel or an oil rig, one of the worst events that can befall your operation is the event of an oil spill. As previous spills have shown, spanning from the Deepwater Horizon disaster to the Exxon Valdez oil spill, cleanup can be costly while the effect on the environment can be absolutely disastrous. Thankfully for you, this guide has been created in order to recommend a few key procedures that you can put in place in order to mitigate against an oil spill as well as making sure that you have ways to adapt once it occurs. Read on now for everything that you need to know about stopping an oil spill. 

Fully Train Your Staff 

As seen in the Deepwater Horizon disaster, an event that we still haven’t fully counted the cost of, the weakest link can often be the people that are in your employ. That’s why it makes sense in the hiring process that you only take on people with the highest knowledge when it comes to working with oil as well as a can-do attitude when it comes to preventing oil spills from occurring in the first place. If you believe that your workers simply aren’t good enough, then there is no shame in training them fully through a lot of specially dedicated training days. 

Don’t Skimp On Regulations 

Oil management regulations are changing all the time to better ensure that disasters never happen again. It is up to you to make sure that you keep abreast of all these changes in order to make sure that your operation is run to the highest levels of safety and accountability. It’s worth bearing in mind that if there is a disaster and an audit proves that it was actually fully preventable, you could end up losing your job or even being sued for the damage that you have caused, making it more than worthwhile to follow all the rules to the letter. 

Put in Place Oil Stop Valves 

Sometimes there’s nothing you can do to stop the oil from leaking. Nonetheless, with a well-placed oil stop valve, you can adapt to the leak and minimize its damage. You should take a look around at the different providers in order to find an oil stop valve that works best for the size of the operation that you have. Once you have a great provider of oil stop valves, you will then have a system that can easily separate oil from water and stop you from having a nasty disaster.   

Fill Your Tanks Only 80%

One of the reasons that oil spills out of tanks often is the fact that they have been over filled. One easy and simple way to make sure that you stop this from happening is by only filling your tank around 80%. While this may mean less oil for your uses, it will help to keep your operation safer in the long run.