Publications

One of the major purposes of any oil spill response is to minimise the damage that could be caused by the spill. Dispersant application is one of the operational response strategies that are available to respond to oil spills at sea. It is critical that responders and policy-makers are aware that dispersants need to be applied as quickly as possible as the spilled oil is undergoing the weathering process. These processes cause changes in chemical and physical properties which could potentially result in an increase of viscosity and limit the effectiveness of dispersants. This paper reviews the existing response capability in Indonesia and focuses on an aviation strategy as a means to improve the response efficacy in this region. The emphasis will be on the aerial application of dispersants which can be the most effective strategy for a large spill at sea. It is hoped that the outcome of this paper could offer a realistic and viable solution for improving the response readiness in Indonesia.