Vaidas Masiliauskas from Klaipėda Fire and Rescue Board: We Have to Be Well-prepared for Ecological Disasters

Lithuania has only 99 km shores of the Baltic Sea, but in this short stretch of coastline, there are wonderful nature reserves, parks, and nice wide beaches. It is scary to imagine what would happen if this amazing environment was reached and stained by oil spills. Lithuania would lose a wonderful corner of life.

The biggest ecological accident took place in 1981, when 17,000 tons of fuel oil spilled from the tanker “Globe Asimi” near Klaipėda port. The consequences were catastrophic, and many years passed before they were eliminated. The Butinge oil terminal, the Russian Federation’s oil extraction platform D6, and the growing number of ships are a reason for serious concern.

Indeed, the Klaipėda Fire and Rescue Service as part of Fire and Rescue Department of Lithuania under the Ministry of the Interior must be prepared for an ecological disaster.

I have graduated in Chemical Engineering and Petroleum Technology at Klaipėda University. During the master studies, we analyzed the impacts of oil on nature and tried practical methods to collect oil from the water and other surfaces. We have to organize similar master classes and exercises not only for fire and rescue workers, but also for other services. We cooperate closely with the Border Guard Service, Armed Forces, and the Navy of Lithuania.

I believe that the OIL SPILL project will bring huge benefits in the field of oil spill response. We have a lot of unresolved issues and problems in this area, for example: bird cleaning from oil has not been applied in Lithuania.

It is unfortunate that we had to postpone the KOPOS 2020 exercise because of the coronavirus this spring – we had put a lot of work and effort into it. The exercise will show how we are prepared to deal with ecological accidents, whether we work smoothly with other responsible authorities, whether we will be able to involve volunteers, and so on.

I think that our work is important and meaningful, which makes us work hard. In addition, I really enjoy working with like-minded partners. We are all responsible for our common Baltic Sea.

Mr. Vaidas Masiliauskas, Chief of Service Management division, Fire and Rescue Board of Klaipėda