planned for other ports include accommodation for the movement of 

 vessels serving offshore oil activities. 



USCG responsibilities also include surveillance for oil spills and 

 other oil discharges onto waters of the OCS. During flights to and 

 from platforms, USGS inspection teams maintain surveillance to 

 identify spills and other signs of pollution. This surveillance 

 supplements USCG flights and serves to provide an interim 

 response and control mechanism. All incidents are reported to 

 appropriate USCG headquarters and, if traced to vessels, are 

 referred to the nearest USCG station. The USCG responds to all 

 reports of major incidents. 



NASA's Wallops Flight Center has demonstrated the feasibility of 

 using an aircraft-mounted laser system for detecting oil slicks at any 

 hour of the day or night. The laser beam's impinging on a slick 

 produces a florescence, which is then recorded aboard the aircraft 

 and analyzed to determine the type of oil involved. The technique 

 remains in the testing stage, and its sensitivity for distinguishing 

 between natural and man-produced slicks has not yet been 

 demonstrated. 



In support of the National Contingency Plan for pollution 

 incidents, the USCG operates the National Response Center and 

 Strike Force with the following specific spill response functions: 



(1) Provide communications support 



(2) Provide advice and assistance for oil and hazardous substance 

 removal 



(3) Provide expertise in ship salvage, diving, and removal 

 techniques and methodology. 



These functions are described in the Federal Ocean Program Report 

 of 1974. During 1974 the Strike Force gained wide recognition for its 

 participation in the response to several notable incidents involving 

 ship collisions and groundings: 



(1) A 330,000-gallon spill in February 1974 resulting from a 

 collision of two vessels at a refinery at Paulsboro, N.|. Eight 

 members of the Atlantic Strike Team were on the scene for 17 days 

 providing expertise in removal techniques and methodology. 



(2) The holing of the USNS Towle by a small iceberg off Hamilton 

 Inlet with the loss of fuel oil. A seven-man strike team departed 

 Elizabeth City for Goose Bay, Labrador, with 24,000 pounds of 

 equipment including air-deliverable antipollution transfer systems 

 (ADAPTS), diving gear, and underwater cutting and welding 

 equipment. The strike teamdivers plugged the holes, pumped out the 

 floodwater, and installed a patch over the damaged area, after which 

 the Towle steamed into Goose Bay without incident. 



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