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Vellamo 2021 Exercise Developed Co-operation Between Authorities and Volunteers

One of the main aims of the OIL SPILL project is to develop co-operation between volunteers and authorities in oil spill response. Tommi Virtanen, who works as Head of Preparedness at the Finnish Red Cross Southwest Finland district office, represented the voluntary organizations in the exercise management group. “Utilizing the expertise of the third sector depends most on the authority’s imagination and perhaps the courage to ask for help from these organizations…

Vellamo 2021 Oil Spill Response Exercise Has Begun in the OIL SPILL Pilot Area

Yesterday evening, a massive oil spill was spotted at the Finnish archipelago on the Southwest coast of Finland. Luckily, it is only an imaginary one and part of the Vellamo 2021 oil spill response (OSR) exercise organized by the Southwest Finland Emergency Services (SWFES). Vellamo is one of the main events of the OIL SPILL Project. It aims to test and practice how the local emergency services in our pilot area manages the response operation together with the OSR volunteers and in cooperation with international assistance.

Vellamo 2021 Oil Spill Response Webinar on 6 May 2021, Register Now!

Vellamo 2021 is one of the largest oil spill response (OSR) exercises the OIL SPILL Project is part of. Southwest Finland Emergency Services is the main organizer of this event that combines the activities of OIL SPILL, Host Nation Support, and SAAME, the annual OSR exercise at the Finnish Archipelago Sea.

Local and International Oil Spill Response Capability and Cooperation Were Improved in Southwest Finland

The benefits the Southwest Finland Emergency Services (SWFES) has received while working in the OIL SPILL Project are diverse. One of the biggest is the better cooperation and coordination between the third sector volunteers and authorities in Finland. During the workshops and the Vellamo exercise, we learned a lot from each other. It is important to know how the different organizations work and then find common ground in our joint task. Another example of the highlights is that SWFES was able to exercise in the training pool of XAMK, South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences, in Kotka. Via this exercise, we received a lot of new knowledge concerning oil spill response work, and we were able to test different kind of equipment in real life with authentic oil. Without external funding, it is difficult to organize this kind of training.