Web Alert: What is the role of your P&I club during a major oil spill?

ECM Maritime Serviceshttp://www.ecmmaritime.com is a trusted partner of many of The Standard Club’s members. ECM provides regulatory, consulting, compliance, and emergency response services in the US, with particular emphasis on assisting owners/operators with respect to their obligations under OPA 90.  Each year, ECM conducts Incident Management Team Table Top Exercises at various venues in the US and around the world. These exercises allow participants the opportunity to experience a wide range of challenges which they would be called upon to meet in the event of an actual spill.
 
The scenario in this year’s road show exercise involves a bulk carrier colliding with a container vessel in Egmont Channel (Tampa, FL) resulting in a very large oil spill.  In such an event, the US Coast Guard, the ship’s Qualified Individual, Oil Spill Response Organizations, P&I Club, and salvors will be notified more or less immediately and the owners/operators/crew will go about executing the Vessel Response Plan. 
 
ECM asked LeRoy Lambert, General Counsel, to comment on the role of a P&I club in the event of such a spill/incident in US waters. LeRoy provides his comments in a video available here.