Locating oil spill response centres using mathematical models

The response to marine accidental spillage of oil requires careful advance planning to ensure that the impact of an oil spill is minimized. The fast dispatching of specialized cleanup equipment and facilities to the spill site will help to control the pollution of the sea and coastline. The presence of oil spill equipment and facilities at a nearby centre will speed up the response to an oil spill. In this paper several mathematical models, obtained from the operational research and management science literature, which address aspects related to determining optimal sites for regional centres where oil spill response equipment and facilities can be located are reviewed and discussed. The paper concludes with an emphasis on the great need for the use of such models for siting oil spill response centres within semienclosed waterways such as the Arabian Gulf area.