Close

Presentation

Vessels of Opportunity Pioneer Project in Brazil – A 5-year Critical Review and Lessons Learnd
DescriptionThe Mar Atento Project was designed and implemented with the objective of engaging and training the Brazilian artisanal fishing community to respond to an oil spill affecting the Brazilian coastal waters. After 5 years, up to 500 people were engaged, 294 fishing community members were trained, and 93 Vessels of Opportunity (VoO) were registered in a Geodata bank improving the overall preparedness and decision-making process in the event of an oil spill.

The project is based on four major milestones: (i) Survey of secondary and primary data for project planning and detailed design, including but not limited to local fishing community, local logistics and supply chain; (ii) Implementation of several engagement efforts, principally the Expo Mar Atento Exhibition. (iii) Preparation and execution of a customized theoretical and practical training focused on the operational concepts of an oil spill response in a shoreline environment; and (iv) Lessons Learned Event, where the fishing community watch a video highlighting the activities they participated in during the earlier phases of the project. Additionally, they receive a photo book and have the opportunity to share their impressions about the project.

This sequential approach has been a key success factor for the project. It enables engagement of the fishing community and individuals in a step-by-step and methodical process, building a proper level of relationship and familiarity before building competency. Although meeting its goals and its great acceptance, the project also provided some future challenges: increasing the training frequency, necessity of defining a method for the database maintenance, and a mechanism to allow the inclusion of the fishing community in regular industry drills and exercises.
Event Type
Paper
TimeWednesday, May 15th4:30pm - 4:50pm CDT
Location275-277
Tags
Preparedness