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tors can take advantage of various training courses such as OSHA 1910.120 HAZWOPER Courses, Equipment De- ployment (Booming, Recovery Techniques, etc.), Incident Command System Training, conÞ ned space entry and other customized programs that can also be brought to the owner/ operators facilities. Malen emphasizes the point by saying, ÒThis is a great advantage, as you would rather see how your salvors work in a drill situation rather than getting to know how they work during an actual incident. Again the owner/ operator is engaging with the salvor.Ó TECHNOLOGY , TOO MRA/TITAN has also developed an exclusive App Ð the OPA 90 SMFF app Ð which will allow owner/operators to make emergency requests, reports, and request drills. This app will also give the owner/operator, QI, and USCG secure access to the Pre Fire Plans and CertiÞ cates as well as any other vessel documents they need to store. It is a requirement of the USCG to be able to access Pre Fire Plans on line, and now, MRA pro- vides the service in a mobile application. The AppÕs utility goes far beyond the technology, says Malen. ÒWe see it as not only a convenience that saves time and money, but a great tool. Our salvors can utilize it to download the clientÕs vessel documents on the way to a response and have these documents on their device off line, making the response more efÞ cient.Ó RISKED BASED & SCALEDThe Federal Water Pollution Control Act deÞ nes a non- tank vessel as a self-propelled vessel of 400 gross tons or greater that operates on U.S. navigable waters while car- rying oil of any kind as fuel for main propulsion. Beyond this, the NTVRP requirements for planning response ser- vices are scaled to oil carrying capacity. Thus, for small non-tank vessels with less oil carrying capacities, there are fewer functional planning requirements. RESPONDERS, PROVIDERS & REQUIREMENTS All of the vetted and approved SMFF providers Ð the Þ nal 5 Ð must have GSA Geographic SpeciÞ c Appendices that ad- here to the USCG time requirements for response resources and personnel. These GSAs are audited every quarter. Lind- say Malen told MarineNews in November that, ÒThe MRA owns a majority of the assets listed in our GSAs, with Crow- ley and McAllister alone, we own over 150 US ß agged tugs. We then also have our secondary MOUs or agreements with response resources. The owner/operators have access to our GSAs and we must cover all COPT zones.Ó As compliance day approaches, many if not most non- tank operators are well on their way to achieving compli- ance, but the journey still requires help. And, there is a lot of it out there. National Response Corporation (NRC) and RESOLVE Marine Group recently announced the expansion of their 1Call response coverage for all vessels trading in U.S. waters. The service offers tanker and non- tank vessel owners and operators full, single-source cover- age in compliance with latest U.S. Coast Guard regula- tions for Salvage and Marine FireÞ ghting (SMFF), and Oil Spill Removal Organization (OSRO). In operation since 2003, the service offers comprehensive response coverage to international ß eets as well as individual ship owners and operators, who trade in the U.S. According to RESOLVE MarineÕs Joe Farrell, by providing a single point-of-contact for all required response services, 1Call streamlines com- pliance, response planning, and associated administrative processes while controlling costs. Farrell, President of RE- SOLVE Marine Group, said in October, ÒSince this rela- tionship has been such a great experience, it only made sense to extend our 1Call service to all vessels.Ó 1Call team assets include response resources such as oil spill response vessels, aircraft, ocean going tugs, and oil re- covery and salvage barges, and a national network of depots with equipment pre-staged to meet planning requirements that provide the best response capability. Steve Candito, President & CEO of National Response Corporation added, ÒWeÕve had our 1Call response network in place for the past 10 years and are pleased to expand this service to all vessels in light of the USCGÕs release of Nontank Vessel Regulations.Ó The Salvage and Marine FireÞ ghting (SMFF) core Geo- graphic SpeciÞ c Appendices (GSAs) voluntarily submitted to the Coast Guard for review by SMFF resource providers are conditionally accepted as listed below: REGULATORY REVIEW SMFF Provider USCG Revision NumberDATE Donjon-Smit LLC:Revision 2013-1001 May 2013Marine Response Alliance LLC Revision 13.101 May 2013Resolve Salvage and Fire (Americas), Inc. Revision 7.501 May 2013Svitzer Salvage Americas, Inc. Revision 311 April 2013T&T Salvage LLCRevision 1001 May 2013Source: U.S. Coast Guard December 201338 MNMN Dec2013 Layout 32-49.indd 38MN Dec2013 Layout 32-49.indd 3811/25/2013 12:50:13 PM11/25/2013 12:50:13 PM
