Through the pioneering work of British Petroleum’s (BP) Oil Spill Service Centre in Southampton, UK, Oil Spill Response Ltd was formed in 1984.
1984
In 1985, OSRL was formally established with funding support from four other international oil companies.
1985
Exxon Valdez, an oil tanker, struck Prince William Sound's Bligh Reef in Alaska, spilling nearly 38,000 tonnes of crude oil.
We were among the first oil spill response organisations to arrive at the incident from outside of Alaska.
1989
First dedicated contract for Hercules aircraft at Southampton base to improve the speed of response.
1990
We set up a training department to share knowledge and experience from subject matter experts and responders within the industry.
1991
East Asia Response Limited (EARL) was established in Singapore to respond to oil spills quickly in the Asia Pacific region.
The shareholders of EARL consisted of BP Singapore, Caltex, Esso, Eastern, Mobil, Shell and BHP Billiton.
1992
MV Braer, an oil tanker, ran aground in the Shetland Islands, UK
1993
Sea Empress, an oil tanker, spilled 72,000 tonnes of crude oil and bunkers after grounding at Milford Haven, Wales.
OSRL supported the response with.the Hercules aerial dispersant platform and shoreline response equipment.
1996
Evoikos, an oil tanker, collided with another empty tanker along the Straits of Singapore, spilling 28,000 tonnes of heavy oil.
EARL was involved in containment and recovery operations.
1997
Erika, an oil tanker, capsized at the Bay of Biscay, France, spilling almost 20,000 tonnes of heavy oil.
We provided oil spill response specialists to assist with the clean-up of oil on the impacted rocky shorelines and beaches
1999
Our UK Response Service launched. This service provided Tier 2 response to ports and harbours around the United Kingdom.
1999
In January 2000, OSRL EARL announced an Alliance, which allows Members to access the resources of both organisations.
2000
Natuna Sea, an oil tanker, was grounded at the Straits of Singapore. EARL's vessels, staff and contract workers assisted in the containment and recovery of spilled oil.
2000
UKCS Aerial Surveillance and Dispersant Service launched, to provide access to UK-approved dispersant for use in UKCS waters, including one verification and dispersant spray aircraft.
2001
Prestige, an oil tanker, sunk off the coast of Spain, spilling 64,000 tonnes of oil, affecting 2,900 km of coastline in France, Spain and Portugal.
We provided on-site technical advice, specialised response services including aerial surveillance, shoreline response and waste management.
2002
Tasman Spirit, an oil tanker, was grounded in a channel at the Port of Karachi in Pakistan.
We assisted in containment and deflection booming, dispersant spraying, skimming operations and shoreline clean-up.
2003
We established an office in Aberdeen, which was officially opened in 2006 with two employees.
2005
The Global Response Network, a collaboration of major oil spill response organisations, was formed to share information, improve spill response performance and provide centres of expertise in spill preparedness, response and recovery techniques.
2005
OSRL and EARL, two of the largest oil spill response organisations in the world, merge to form OSRL/EARL.
2006
Joint Oiled Wildlife Service established with Sea Alarm Foundation, enabling the skills and experience of the oil industry to be combined with environmental groups to assist and protect wildlife threatened by oil pollution.
2006
We worked collaboratively with the newly-launched GI-WACAF project.
The Global Initiative for West and Central Africa (GI WACAF) project is a collaboration between the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and IPIECA to enhance the capacity of countries for a response.
2006
We launched an on-site technical advisory service to help establish the scale of the incident, assist in selection of response strategies and mobilise the appropriate resources
2007
Hebei Spirit, an oil tanker, collided with a crane barge in South Korea, spilling 10,500 tonnes of heavy oil.
Our Hercules was deployed from Singapore for aerial dispersant application along with a team of eight responders from Singapore and Southampton.
2007
We established a base in Bahrain to be closer to Members in the Middle East and Africa.
2007
We established an office in Indonesia to serve the growing number of Members who are operating in the country.
2009
Montara, an offshore platform off the North West coast of Australia experienced a blowout which spilled about 400 barrels per day of light crude oil into the Timor Sea. The well was successfully intercepted after 73 days.
We performed aerial dispersant spraying, monitoring of dispersant effectiveness, containment and recovery as well as oil spill modeling.
2009
Along with AMOSC we established a Resources and Service Alliance.
The agreement allows governments and Members in defined regional areas under AMOSC's operations to simultaneously gain access to our resources, expedite the callout process and shorten overall response lead times.
2009
OSRL signs agreement with NOFO (Norwegian Clean Seas Association for Operating Companies) to support Members in Norway.
2009
Macondo, an exploration well in the Gulf of Mexico suffered a subsea well blowout spilling crude oil into the Gulf for 87 days until the well was controlled.
We supported strategic planning, liaison with stakeholders, Shoreline Clean-up Assessment Techniques (SCAT) activities, SMART fluorometry, aerial dispersant application, as well as providing 50% of our global stockpile of response equipment.
2010
Delivery of OSPRAG well capping device for the UKCS region.
The OSRPAG capping device was built to seal off an uncontrolled subsea well in the unlikely event of a major well control incident in UK waters.
2011
Implementation of in-situ burning capability as another option of removing oil spills at sea.
2011
MV Rena, a container ship, was grounded off the coast of New Zealand, spilling 350-400 tonnes of heavy fuel oil off the culturally and environmentally sensitive shoreline.
We provided technical support during the initial spill response and dispersant operations. Subsequently this role expanded to include shoreline operations, aerial support, and incident command support and shoreline protection.
2011
Bonga facility, at offshore Nigeria, leaked about 35,000barrels of oil during a transfer of crude oil from an FPSO to an oil tanker at the end of 2011.
50% of our equipment and wildlife responders were mobilised.
2011
We introduced Subsea Well Intervention Services (SWIS) and opened dedicated SWIS facilities in Norway, Singapore and South Africa.
SWIS is our dedicated subsea division providing an integrated intervention system (four Capping Stack Toolboxes and two Subsea Incident Response Toolkits).
2013
We merged with Clean Caribbean and Americas (CCA), creating a truly global oil spill response resource.
2013
Implementation of Global Dispersant Stockpile (GDS). Subscribers to the service have access to substantial amounts of dispersant stored at strategic global locations that can be used with the Subsea Incident Response Toolkits.
2013
We supported the OGP/IPIECA Joint Industry Project (JIP) and contributed to the launch of the Good Practice Guides.
2013
Rayong, Thailand, a leak from a single buoy mooring hose 30kms from the coast impacted nearby fisheries and tourism locations.
We provided technical advice, aerial dispersant support as well as personnel to assist with Shoreline Clean-up Assessment Techniques (SCAT).
2013
Development of new Boeing 727 aerial dispersant platform to serve industry needs for high capacity aerial dispersant application and replace the civilian variant of the Lockheed Hercules aircraft.
2014
Development of a Subsea Well Containment Toolkit enabling the flow of well hydrocarbons from the capping stack to an offloading tanker.
2014
The containment toolkit was delivered.
2015
OSRL celebrated 30 years since it was formally established. Commemorating the journey with our Members and addressing the changing needs of preparedness, intervention and response to oil spills.
2015
OSRL introduced Subsea Preparedness Services to help the industry plan for the complexity of responding to a well control scenario. Services include logistics planning, training and exercise delivery.
2016
Completion of The TERSUS Dispersant Delivery System - the world's first and only aerial dispersant system to be approved for operation from a large jet aircraft.
2016
This personalised portal can be used to book training courses online, view online booking history, keep track of online bookings and view training course certificates after completion of courses.
2016
OSRL formed Subject Matter Expertise (SME) groups internally, to share and develop specialised skills for core oil spill related topics. These groups consist of personnel from all of OSRL's three operating regions and working in a broad mix of our technical functions. Group members have varied levels of expertise.
2017
OSRL launched the Global Exercise Planner, which incorporates the different elements of the Tiered Preparedness and Response wheel, as a commitment to our clients to keep our technical competencies are up-to-date.
2017
This strategic alliance with Ghana’s Bayfield Oil Services allowed us to expand our current in-county presence for oil spill preparedness services, including the provision of specialist personnel to members, consultancy services, training and equipment hire.
2017
OSRL’s latest development in subsea well capping technology, Offset Installation Equipment (OIE), was officially launched from the equipment’s new home base in Trieste, Italy. This equipment is designed for scenarios where direct vertical access to a well head is not viable.
2017
OSRL, Trendsetter Engineering and Halliburton signed a strategic alliance to provide a comprehensive end-to-end practice solution for preparedness and response to a subsea well incident such as operational and deployment support and expertise.
2018
Our game changing airfreightable capping stack capability enables us to ship the capping stack fully assembed, something that was impossible before, resulting in considerable reduction in response times.
2018
A vessel collided with a jetty in the port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands. Response activities were launched straight away by authorities and the responsible party. OSRL helped with the response operations and offered help to the authorities and our client.
2018
In May 2021, the X-Press Pearl container ship caught fire off the coast of Colombo, Sri Lanka. After burning for 12 days, the vessel then sank on 2 June as it was being towed away to deeper waters.
2021
