Joint Maritime Facility Studies Oil Spill Fires, Survival Suits and Technology
The Coast Guard Research and Development Center, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement and Worcester Polytechnic Institute test a copper blanket designed by WPI to burn spilled oil more efficiently from the water Mar. 13-17, 2017.
The Joint Maritime Test Facility (JMTF) is jointly operated by the Coast Guard Research and Development Center and the Naval Research Laboratory, with the primary purpose of developing technology and strategies for responding to fires and oil spills at sea. The facility’s prime asset is a burn pan: a tank used to simulate a real-world marine environment to test the burning of oil or fuel as a response to oil spills, known as in-situ burning. The JMTF is the only U.S. test facility able to conduct full-scale maritime test-burns of oil on a simulation of open water, including waves.
A recent Coast Guard Compass article by Loretta Haring profiles the Joint Maritime Test Facility in detail.