Base Naval de Rota leads the annual oil spill exercise for coordination and efficient response to maritime emergencies
19 May 2025
From Spanish Fleet Public Affairs Office
Yesterday morning, Base Naval de Rota hosted the annual oil spill response exercise.
This event is one of the bilateral exercises between the U.S. Navy and the Spanish Armada. As in previous years, Bay of Cadiz Port Authority, Junta de Andalucia Maritime Port Authority in Cadiz, Spanish Maritime Rescue Services, and, for the first time, Unidad Militar de Emergencias (UME), participated, in accordance with the Sistema Nacional de Respuesta Spanish National Response System to maritime contamination. Furthermore, the Director General of Spanish Merchant Marine was present during the exercise, and Commander, Naval Activities Spain, Teague Suarez, oversaw the exercise at the pier from the very beginning.
Cadiz (May 9, 2025) – Yesterday morning, Base Naval de Rota hosted the annual oil spill response exercise.
This event is one of the bilateral exercises between the U.S. Navy and the Spanish Armada. As in previous years, Bay of Cadiz Port Authority, Junta de Andalucia Maritime Port Authority in Cadiz, Spanish Maritime Rescue Services, and, for the first time, Unidad Militar de Emergencias (UME), participated, in accordance with the Sistema Nacional de Respuesta Spanish National Response System to maritime contamination. Furthermore, the Director General of Spanish Merchant Marine was present during the exercise, and Commander, Naval Activities Spain, Teague Suarez, oversaw the exercise at the pier from the very beginning.
“Executing joint exercises alongside civilian authorities allows us to improve the coordination between entities during emergencies, natural disasters, or threats to our national security. These exercises foster a mutual understanding in the processes, capabilities, and limitations of each entity, which is essential for a quick and efficient response”, explained Spanish Navy Commander Manuel Posada, Segundo Ayudante Mayor at Base Naval de Rota and director of the exercise.
Additionally, during the exercise, U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer Jon Silva emphasized that “teaming up with our Spanish allies for oil spill recovery drills is a great exhibition of skill and unity. We get to see how each other’s teams operate leading to a stronger bond and environmental adherence.”
Every year, the importance of this exercise increases, motivated by the Base Naval de Rota Internal Maritime Plan, which became official last year and is requested by the law.
The simulation started with a small spill of 50 gallons of oil from one of the piers at Base Naval de Rota, initially contained by the U.S. Navy and Spanish Armada resources on the base, which constitutes level I of response. At that moment, Armada deploys the Environmental section, whose objective is to evaluate the reach of the spill to inform at all times about its dangerousness in order to activate the appropriate resources to contain it.
The spill was not controlled and increased to 5,000 gallons, which forced the activation of the Base Naval de Rota Internal Maritime Plan and level II of response, including the creation of a technical advisory committee. As specified by this plan, once the spill was carried outside of the base perimeter, coordination with Bay of Cadiz Port Authority started and the Spanish Maritime Rescue Services resources were used to avoid further expansion of the oil throughout the sea and the coastline of the Bay of Cadiz.