Exercises
The Response Centres hold regular training sessions and hands-on exercises throughout the year. Our hope is it is only at these times that our equipment has to hit the water.
ECRC staff plan and executes a number of exercises each year that are intended to keep ECRC at the top of its response form. These exercises demonstrate functions of a spill response that range from initial response (the “emergency phase”) to long term planning (the “project management phase”). ECRC provides its clients with a full range of spill response services, from equipment deployment and operational control, to logistics of team support and short, medium and long term response planning. ECRC manages its spill response through to its final stage and a financial group ensures the client is kept informed of the costs.
Exercise program
The frequency of exercises is given for the certification period. Normally the exercises of a given type will be spread as evenly as possible over the 3-year certification period. There are five distinct types of exercises:
- Notification Exercise
- Exercises held quarterly for each PAR in each ECRC Region. A Notification Exercise may be included as a part of a Tier II, III or IV Exercise.
- Tier I Exercise – 150 tonne
- Exercises will be held annually for each PAR
- Tier II Exercise – 1000 tonne Table Top
- Exercise will be held once per year in the GAR, resulting in each region conducting one Tier II exercise during the 3 year certification period .
- Tier III Exercise – 2500 tonne
- Exercise will be held once per PAR per 2 year period, alternating between in the PAR and outside the PAR.
- Tier IV Exercise – 10,000 tonne Table Top Simulation
- Exercise will be held once in the GAR during the 3 year certification period.
In every case, the purpose of an exercise is to demonstrate ECRC’s abilities and to discover ways to improve the response capability of its equipment, personnel and contractors. Should the call ever come, ECRC is prepared to respond without delay to spills that might occur within our geographic area of response.
Clients wishing to be included as a participant or observer in ECRC exercises should contact the appropriate ECRC regional office. Since exercise scheduling and design is done in advance, requests to be included in exercise plans should be made as early as possible.
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