SeaSketch for oil spill response

Planning for oil spill response requires identifying key hazards that could cause an incident,
an analysis of vulnerable assets around the drill site or supply vessels, an inventory, training,
and coordination plan for response actions, and developing a system for providing situational
awareness to support command and control in the event of an incident. In all of these steps, the
use of geographic information systems (GIS) has proven to be essential. However, although
safety measures are in place and protection plans deployed, the unexpected still happens –
a pipe breaks, a rig explodes, a tanker runs aground. Because information is situation-critical,
GIS has also become a major player in emergency response for command, on site work, and
public information.