Filmmaker James Cameron and Canadian undersea explorer Joe MacInnis, in front of the Russian Academy Mir research sub. Dr. MacInnis said there are a number of ticking time bombs that could result in major oil spills in the future, including aging undersea pipelines in the Gulf of Mexico.
A task force of undersea experts convened by filmmaker James Cameron says there needs to be a permanent rapid-response team to deal with future underwater disasters such as the Gulf oil spill.
Mr. Cameron, who has years of experience in deep-water exploration, brought together the team of 28 academics, scientists and government and private-sector experts in Washington in early June to map out new strategies for the huge oil spill spreading through the Gulf of Mexico. The group's report was sent to government officials two weeks ago, but released to the public Thursday.
It contains a number of highly technical recommendations for stopping the flow of oil, or capturing as much of it as possible in surface ships. But it also looks ahead to other potential undersea incidents, and says there should be an independent body established to help handle them.
"There are precedents for this in earthquakes, submarine rescue and aircraft disasters," the report says. The response team would have a "central command structure" and could be called on by governments to provide undersea equipment, high-resolution images and scientific advice.
Canadian undersea explorer Joe MacInnis, a member of the Cameron group, said yesterday that preparations need to be made for more disasters. "A version of this thing will occur at some time in the future," he said. "We [need to]be ready with the intellectual capability and the technical capability to respond."
It would not be the job of the response team to stop a spill, Dr. MacInnis said. But it would "be there right away with the right science and the right equipment to measure the problem immediately. It's like having a patient in the intensive-care unit."
Dr. MacInnis said there are a number of "ticking time bombs" that could result in major oil spills in the future, including aging undersea pipelines in the Gulf of Mexico, rusting Second World War ships off the continental coasts and other deepwater oil wells.
The report calls for a detailed investigation of the wreckage of the Deepwater Horizon drilling platform that caused the leak when it exploded and sank in mid-April. It also says there should be a thorough study of the environmental damage below the ocean's surface, and recommends the creation of a centralized database for samples, images and research.