Shipyard conducting oil spill training exercise in Sinclair Inlet

According to shipyard officials, no simulated oil or other liquid will be discharged into the water

Puget Sound Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility will conduct an oil spill training exercise Friday, Sept. 27.

PSNS & IMF personnel will deploy oil spill response equipment into Sinclair Inlet near the west end of the shipyard, according to a news release. The exercise is not expected to interfere with any ferry operations.

The shipyard conducts periodic exercises in order to train and assess the operational readiness of the Facility Response Team and spill response equipment, the release states. In addition, the exercise will test the effectiveness of the Geographic Response Plans, which are booming strategies developed to protect environmentally sensitive areas.

Exercise activities may be visible to the public, including oil spill response boats performing tactical oil recovery methods, according to shipyard officials. Floating fabric oil-absorbing pads will be placed on the water to indicate the area of a simulated oil spill and will be removed at the conclusion of the exercise.

“No simulated oil or other liquid will be discharged into the water, and there will be no effects on the marine environment,” the release states.