On May 31, Dr. Mark Whittington and Mr. Miguel Patel of the International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation (ITOPF, based in London) arrived in Seattle for a two-week exchange with NOAA scientists.

ITOPF is a non-profit organization established on behalf of ship owners worldwide to promote effective response to oil, chemical, and other hazardous substance spills into the marine environment.

Their visit with OR&R in Seattle will conclude a month-long exchange with OR&R offices in Silver Spring, Mobile, New Orleans, and New York City. While in Seattle, they will be meeting with all of the OR&R divisions as well as other NOAA line offices.

Dr. Mark Whittington, ITOPF Technical Team Manager, is a marine biologist with a background in fisheries, aquaculture and environmental monitoring. Prior to joining ITOPF in 2007, he worked in marine consultancy in the UK and before this, on coastal zone management projects in East Africa and the Middle East. He was promoted to Technical Team Manager in January 2014.

Miguel Patel, ITOPF Technical Adviser, has a degree in zoology and a master's degree in environmental management. He has research experience in ecotoxicology, population dynamics and habitat restoration. Miguel joined ITOPF as a Technical Adviser in October 2011.

In 2012, a similar collaborative activity between OR&R and ITOPF compared training activities, reviewed technical reports, and highlighted best management practices of each organization. Then, in 2013, one of OR&R’s Emergency Response Division's (ERD) Scientific Support Coordinators, Ed Levine, spent five weeks in London on an exchange visit at the ITOPF headquarters. Since ITOPF and ERD conduct very similar missions for different clients, much was learned in how to approach complex environmental problems.

While in Seattle, the ITOPF guests will also take in the CANUSPAC drill and will also visit with a number of Northwest response stakeholders and partners. CANUSPAC (Canadian United States Pacific) is a one-day training exercise that was held on June 4 in Bellingham, WA. In addition to several meetings and informal activities, the British scientists will present a case study of a spill near a remote island in the Atlantic Ocean. The presentation, on Friday, June 6, is open to all and will be held in the building 3 OR&R war room at the NOAA Sand Point campus (Seattle) at 11:00 a.m.

For further information, contact Mark.Dix@noaa.gov.

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