In January of 2007, Federal and State agencies were notified of an oil release in Bayou Perot, Louisiana. Initial overflights identified oil and gas jetting 40-60 feet into the air, and first responders determined that the source was a wellhead that was hit by a passing vessel. SOS was contracted by the owners of the wellhead to provide financial management services. Designated as the Finance Section Chief, SOS immediately began implementing cost control measures for the massive response effort. Numerous response contractors, over 150,000’ of oil containment boom, dozens of response vessels and Federal and State agencies were involved. SOS tracked and recorded all invoices associated with the event and provided critical documentation to the multiple insurers involved with the project. Payment recommendations were made, hundreds of thousands of dollars were saved, invoices were organized and separated for each individual insurer and 10 million dollars in OPA related costs were prepared for submittal to the National Pollution Funds Center.

In November of 2005, an Integrated Tug/Barge System (ITB) DBL 152 and the T/V Rebel struck a submerged obstruction approximately 32 miles offshore of the Western Louisiana Coast. The obstruction was later determined to be an oil rig that had been toppled during Hurricane Rita. The double-hulled barge was holed, and later capsized, spilling an estimated 3 million gallons of heavy oil. SOS was contracted directly by the Insurer (West of England P & I Club) to manage the event financially. SOS kept in direct contact with the P & I Club’s legal correspondents during the event and provided critical financial information to all parties involved. SOS tracked and recorded all invoices associated with the event and also provided critical documentation to the multiple insurers involved with the project. Payment recommendations were made, millions of dollars were saved and invoices were organized and separated for each individual insurer. SOS submitted almost 50 million dollars to the National Pollution Funds Center, which resulted in a successful determination as just 0.003% in charges were denied for reimbursement.

In November of 2004, the 750-foot, M/T Athos I, registered under the flag of Cyprus, was reported to be leaking oil into the Delaware River en route to its terminal at the CITGO asphalt refinery in Paulsboro, NJ. SOS worked with the spill management team to manage the event financially. Hundreds of vendors and over 2000 personnel, as well as their equipment, were involved in the response. SOS kept in direct contact with the P & I Club’s legal correspondents during the event and provided critical financial information to all parties involved. Thousands of invoices were received, audited and recommended for payment while maintaining all documentation in an organized matter. This process allowed SOS to successfully negotiate with many vendors and save the client over 35 million dollars on the event. The Federal Government eventually assumed responsibility of the response after the insurer’s costs reached over 130 Million dollars, well over the OPA limit. SOS was contracted by the insurer (UK P & I Club) to seek reimbursement from the National Pollution Funds Center (NPFC) for costs exceeding their policy limit. In just a few months, SOS submitted over 65,000 pages of documentation to the National Pollution Funds Center and received a successful determination which resulted in only .004% denied for reimbursement.

In April of 2003, the Tank Barge Bouchard No. 120 struck rocks south of Westport, MA, when it passed on the wrong side of a navigational marker at the entrance of Buzzards Bay. The resulting 12-foot gash on the bottom of the hull released an estimated 98,000 gallons of Number 6 fuel oil into Buzzards Bay. SOS was contracted directly by the insurer (West of England P & I Club) to manage the event financially. Hundreds of vendors and over 1,200 personnel, as well as their equipment, were involved in the response. SOS kept in direct contact with the P & I Club’s legal correspondents during the event and provided critical financial information to all parties involved. Thousands of invoices were received, audited and recommended for payment while maintaining all documentation in an organized matter. This process allowed SOS to successfully negotiate with many vendors and save the client millions of dollars on the event.