Oil Spill - Technical Emergency Response Services

Rob has over 20 years experience in the oil gas industry, starting at ExxonMobil before moving to Oil Spill Response Ltd. More recently, Rob joined Swire Pacific Offshore and was tasked with running their emergency response arm. Rob joined SpillConsult as a Director in September 2013.

Rob started his career in the oil industry in 1992 as an engineering apprentice at ExxonMobil’s Fawley Refinery. In 1997 Rob took up the position of Spill Response Specialist with Oil Spill Response Ltd. Where he went on to hold positions such as Global Initiative Consultant (on secondment to IPIECA), Trainer, Duty Manager and Response Team Leader. In 2006 Rob moved to Bahrain as Regional Manager, Middle East where he was responsible for the set-up and running of the Middle East Response Base.

Rob continued his career joining Swire Emergency Response Services as General Manager. Based in Dubai, Rob had a global responsibility, securing various short and long-term contracts in Africa, the Indian Sub-Continent, the Middle East and Europe.

Connect with Rob! - Rob Self LinkedIn

Stuart has over 20 years experience working within the oil industry, having worked for both ExxonMobil and Oil Spill Response Ltd. Stuart joined SpillConsult, as a Director in January 2013.

Stuart began his career as an Engineer with ExxonMobil at Fawley Refinery, Southampton, where he was trained on the maintenance and repair of all refinery heavy equipment. This included gas compressors, steam turbines, generators and all manner of pumps and fluid transfer systems. Stuart then worked at Fawley Marine Terminal where he was responsible for the maintenance and operation of the jetty berths for coastal and ocean tankers transporting gas, white oils, black oils and chemicals. Part of his role included carrying out vessel safety and cargo transfer inspections.

At Oil Spill Response Ltd Stuart occupied many positions including roles within Training, Consultancy and Operations. Some of the key positions included serving on the senior management team as Deputy Head of Global Operations, Global Technical Manager, Incident Manager, Global Readiness Manager, Response Team Leader and Duty Manager.During his career, Stuart has responded to hundreds of oil spill incidents globally and has extensive experience in Incident Management, response equipment deployment and aviation operations. Through these experiences, he has gained a solid understanding of the industry; its requirements and how best practices can and should be applied.

Connect with Stuart! - Stuart Gair LinkedIn

A former Detective Inspector with Grampian Police, Rona has a proven track record in all aspects of emergency response and crisis management within the Police Service. With over 30 years’ experience at different levels, she has wide range of knowledge in the field. Rona has particular expertise in regard to people issues, including Family Liaison and associated matters.  Over the years she has worked with a wide variety of organisations throughout the Emergency Services, in addition to Local and National Government and Industry.  

Rona has also developed and delivered courses, specialising in ‘people skills’ such as Family Liaison, Relative Response, Evacuee Reception Centres, Breaking Bad News and HR Awareness in Emergencies for many UK based Oil and Gas Operators.  She has also similarly worked overseas in delivering to Oil and Gas Operators in Perth, Australia, China, Singapore and the Ukraine.   

In 2011, Rona joined Altor Risk Group (Stirling Group and Restrata), where she has developed Security procedures using her previous Crime Reduction and CID experience. She has also developed and delivered Emergency Response Training and Exercises as well as Business Support and Crisis Management Training for a large number of clients both in the UK and overseas.

Connect with Rona! - Rona Grimmer LinkedIn

Rachel joined the SpillConsult team in January 2015 to help assist the Finance Director with the day to day running of the accounts. Her roles at SpillConsult consist of all accounts requirements from preparing VAT returns, entering purchase invoice, preparing payroll to producing & submitting sale invoices on a wide range of platforms used by our customers. Rachel also liaises with our accountants to ensure all statutory requirement are fulfilled.

Rachel serves one of our major customers as a responder in an HR role providing accounting for people, relative response, and family liaison consultancy and response services. 

Before Rachel joined us, she worked in the accountancy industry, undertaking her AAT qualification. In her previous role, she carried out Audits & Accounts on limited companies along with all the relevant statutory requirements, so she is used to a busy environment and the pressure of deadlines.

Connect with Rachel - Rachel Oneill LinkedIn

Vicki comes from a diverse industry background having worked for a major aviation
flag carrier and large corporate computing and hardware company. During this time
Vicki was key in delivering specialist product knowledge and utilising intensive project
management to deliver excellent standards of customer service. 
 
Vicki’s interpersonal skills and competence in project management have been key in
enabling her to deliver in high stress and demanding situations. Joining SpillConsult in
2019, Vicki has progressed through the organisation delivering projects and customer
engagement programmes. Vicki serves one of our major customers as a responder in
an HR role providing accounting for people, relative response, and family liaison
consultancy and response services. 
 
Vicki now fulfils the role as General Manager of SpillConsult’s global services,
managing a team of highly experienced consultants and associates worldwide.

Connect with Vicki - Vicki Fuller LinkedIn

Peter joined SpillConsult in 2014 and his role includes preparing and delivering exercises, training courses, projects and publications involving all aspects of incident management. This ranges from high level crisis management to all sizes of incident management teams.

Peter spent 34 years in the UK Fire Service so brought wide experience of operational command, management and training roles. Peter held senior positions responsible for; Command Strategy, Hazardous Materials, Environmental Protection, Specialist Rescue, Urban Search and Rescue, CBRN, Counter Terrorism, National Resilience and Inter-Agency Liaison. He helped introduce ICS into the UK and part of the growth of multi-agency incident management in emergency services.

Peter was a leading member of the UK Fire Service International Search and Rescue team serving as Crew Leader, Operations Commander, Training Officer, Deployment Commander and National Coordinator. Peter deployed for disasters including earthquakes in Turkey, Iran, New Zealand, Haiti and Japan plus floods, volcano’s and tsunamis. Peter led the development of UKISAR transforming the team structure and standards, establishing it as the official UK governmental response team.

Peter is a trained US FEMA Task Force Leader and worked with several US Task Forces on exercises and deployments. Peter was active in the EU and UN response systems helping develop the INSARAG External Classification process and chairing the working group that produced a new coordination methodology for global disasters. Peter readily shares his experience, mentoring many international teams.

Peter received the Queens Fire Service Medal (QFSM) in 2012 for these achievements.

Tim has over 30 years of incident response management and contingency planning experience within the oil & gas industry across all operational, tactical and strategic levels. Working with local, national and international companies & organisations including, government agencies and regulators with extensive experience specifically within the areas of oil spill response and emergency response management.

Has worked on a wide variety of projects including the establishment of oil spill response bases, development of contingency / emergency response plans, scripting and directing emergency response exercises, oil spill computer modelling and delivery of oil spill/emergency response training worldwide.

As well as experience within the UK, has extensive overseas experience (West and North Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia and the Far East) for a wide variety of oil and gas industry clients.

Connect with Tim! - Tim Endean LinkedIn

Aaron is a Consultant at SpillConsult with a BSc (Hons) in Marine Biology from the University of Portsmouth where he studied climate change and marine ecology and conservation. He is particularly interested in the effects of climate change on marine ecosystems and processes in addition to marine animal welfare.

Prior to starting at SpillConsult Aaron worked as a manager within the retail sector where he played a key role in his stores ascension to the number one spot in the UK. During his spell in retail Aaron completed NVQ’s in both Sales and Customer Service gaining key transferable skills.

Since joining SpillConsult, Aaron has completed training in both UKCS Overview of Oil Spills for Corporate Management and ICS 100-300 in addition to other accredited courses and company visits aiding in broadening his industry knowledge and experience.

Aaron has supported the planning and development of several major response exercises in locations such as Spain, Egypt and Singapore preparing materials, injects, and roleplaying various functions to assess effectiveness of IMT response plans and actions.

Aaron has also assisted in the development and review of OSCP’s, TRP’s and other emergency response documentation at both national and regional level, ensuring plans align with the IMS standard and industry best practice and worked on a number of consultancy projects.

Connect with Aaron! - Aaron Wren Linkedin
 

Peter spent 32 years with the Royal Air Force beginning his career in aviation and ground fuels management.  During this period, he managed large scale tank farms and pipeline operations supporting airfield refueling and as a Pollution Control Officer provided fuel spill response capability to RAF airfields in Northern Scotland.  He managed a petroleum storage depot and marine terminal on Ascension Island in the South Atlantic, supervising ship to ship and ship to shore fuel transfers and provided helicopter re-fueling at remote sites in the Falkland Islands and Scottish Highlands and Islands. He has additional experience in deployed logistics supporting the Nimrod Maritime fleet at many overseas locations and is experienced in hazardous waste storage and disposal.

As a former Operations Commander for the RAF Mountain Rescue Service responsible for the management and operational efficiency of the land based element of the UK Search and Rescue Force he also has extensive experience in military Search and Rescue operations and has been in a command role at the centre of several high profile national incidents including the Lockerbie and Kegworth air disasters. He has attended many aircraft crashes and major incidents around the UK working closely with the UK Aeronautical Rescue Co-ordination Centre, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, Police, Fire and Ambulance Services. He was also involved in UK Resilience forums providing aircraft post-crash management advice to local authorities and emergency services.

In 2010, he became an Emergency Management Consultant and OPITO Competence Assessor working with a variety of clients in the oil and gas and power generation sectors at home and overseas in Oman, Saudi Arabia, India and West Africa providing emergency response and incident management team training, exercising and competence assessment.  Other key skills include emergency preparedness audits, credible scenario development and emergency plan writing. Most recently he was the Project Manager and a contributor responsible for the production and delivery of the National Oil Spill Contingency Plan for Lebanon.

Elle joined SpillConsult in 2019 after completing her BSc Geography degree at the University of Winchester. She studied Environmental Hazard Management, Geomatics & Remote Sensing and Managing Geographical Issues, covering key topics such as planning, policy, geographic information systems and disaster emergency response.

As a Consultant, Elle has worked on a diverse range of exercises from conception to delivery, assisting customers with scope and objectives, developing a variety of inject materials and management of the Simulation Cell for both tabletop and major exercises. Having collaborated with a variety of organisations across multiple countries, she is keen to drive the continuous improvement of emergency preparedness through innovative exercise design and execution.

She has also been involved in several consultancy projects in various global locations, including national and regional Oil Spill Contingency Planning, Oil Spill Risk Assessments and Gap Analysis & Capability Assessments, in addition to tactical plan writing for Emergency Response Plans, Tactical Response Plans and SOPs.

Elle enjoys working in the fast-paced environment that is the emergency response industry and being a part of the dynamic and diverse SpillConsult team.

Connect with Elle! - Elle Brown LinkedIn

Duncan specialises in ICS exercise development for a diverse range of customers and scenarios. More recently this has included several large-scale exercises, where he supported our clients with exercise planning, scenario development and roleplaying external agencies. He also leads the development of Microsoft Teams solutions, such as the Virtual Incident Command Post. Duncan provides consultancy support for clients, offering support and solutions to their needs, which recently has included equipment maintenance support and incident preparedness.

Duncan's joined SpillConsult in November 2016 when he joined as an administrator, studying level 2/3 diploma in business administration. In 2018, he transitioned into a full-time administrator role, contributing to various aspects of the company's operations including quality management (ISO9001), IT support, web/app development, procurement, and business support. In 2021, he started supporting exercise and consultancy projects alongside his existing role before moving to his current role as a full-time Consultant in June 2022.

Connect with Duncan! Duncan Bryson LinkedIn

Matthew served 22 years in the Royal Navy, initially on the Surface Fleet as an Underwater Weapons (SONAR) System Operator / Engineer. During this time, he deployed around the world and was involved in several major maritime operations and exercises, including deployments to the South Atlantic, Baltics, Middle East and Asia.

In 2003 he transferred to the Fleet Air Arm and qualified as a helicopter aircrewman specialising in Anti-Submarine Warfare and SAR. During a 4-year secondment to the RAF he crewed the Merlin EH101 Helicopter in the Support Helicopter Role, which included deployments to operational theatres Telic and Herrick. He was also involved in a number of Non-combatant Evacuation Operations.

Qualifying as an Aircrew Instructor in 2010, he went on to assist in the development of initial aircrew training for the new variant Merlin helicopter and was heavily involved in testing and improvement of the curriculum and training material.

After leaving the Military in 2014, he moved to Abu Dhabi where he taught civilian and military aircrew on the Super Puma and Dauphin helicopters. Matt was responsible for developing the aircraft training syllabus for ab-initio rear-crew aviators, as well as standardising aircrew instructors ensuring that training was delivered at the highest level possible.

An experienced Instructor, Matthew brings Military ethos and experience to the SpillConsult team.

Connect with Matthew! - Matthew Wilson LinkedIn

Bruce has over 35 years experience working in the oil industry, primarily in emergency response, as well as Health, Safety, Security and Environment (HSSE). Bruce spent the first 20 years of his career working in the Arctic as well as 15 years working globally in the Middle East, Asia Pacific and Europe.

Bruce started his career working for the Canadian government in the Arctic, inspecting oil and gas operations and acting as the government representative on oil spills. In 1985, he joined Gulf Canada Resources where he was responsible for obtaining drilling permits and managing Gulf’s Arctic spill response preparedness program.  In 1990, following the Exxon Valdez spill, Bruce joined Alaska Clean Seas and was part of a team that transitioned ACS from an equipment warehouse to a full response organization supporting oil and gas activities on the Alaskan North Slope. Bruce also had work secondments to Alyeska Pipeline Service Co., where he managed pipeline right of way maintenance and spill response capability, as well as BP as an arctic spill response expert in support of offshore drilling and production. In 1998, Bruce joined BP on a fulltime basis.

In 2000, Bruce was seconded from BP to the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (ADNOC) as the Crisis Management Coordinator, responsible for implementing a standardized emergency response capability for the oil and gas industry in the United Arab Emirates. In 2005 Bruce became the Crisis Manager for BP Shipping, based in London and responsible for crisis management, business continuity and security for BP Shipping’s global operations.  In 2009 Bruce returned to Canada and joined Talisman Energy where he held a variety of positions supporting Talisman’s international operations; culminating in the position of Global Security Manager until 2015, when Talisman was purchased by Repsol.

During his career, Bruce has also held Directorships with Amulet ship vetting company, Oil Spill Response Ltd and Sea Alarm, a not for profit wildlife response organization.

John’s primary role at SpillConsult is to deliver training to our clients in the Incident Command System and other aspects of incident response relating to oil spill and other industry related incidents. Secondary to this John will provide consultancy services to clients and work with them on the preparation and execution of exercises testing their emergency response capabilities.

John joined SpillConsult in September 2023 after a 30 year career as a police officer with Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary, where he retired at the rank of Chief Inspector.

A career highlight was four years as the District Commander for Hart & Rushmoor, where John was responsible for the delivery of local policing across these two diverse local authority areas.

John will be bringing his extensive experience in Incident Response, command and control, problem solving, decision making, project management, leadership and partnership working gleaned over his police career into this role with SpillConsult.

Peter provides ICS training, exercise design, planning, and delivery for our wide range of clients. His maritime and government background brings valuable expertise and alternative perspectives to training, scenario development and wider stakeholder engagement.

Recent client projects of note have included large scale exercises with over two hundred participants, one of which involved significant government stakeholders and a scenario initiated through a maritime security incident.

Peter has a keen interest in international affairs, a degree in Politics and International Relations and extensive travel which brings historical, cultural and contemporary awareness to clients. He appreciates the value and the strengths that diverse and inclusive teams can bring to an organisation.  

Prior to joining SpillConsult Peter worked at the Joint Maritime Security Centre, championing a ‘whole sector’ approach to maritime security. Here he specialised in cross government working, through policy and operations along with multi agency exercise design and facilitation. He offers a strategic ‘bigger picture’ overview along with experience in operational delivery.

At the Maritime & Coastguard Agency he worked in Search & Rescue, coordinating UK and international incidents prior to specialising in Maritime Security. Strategic projects have included an International Maritime Organisation programme to deliver maritime strategy, governance, and compliance to member states.

Connect with Peter!  - Peter Smith LinkedIn

Ray Ramsay, Qatar Regional Manager, joined Spill Consult in May 2023. Currently heading up the Middle East office in Qatar, working on a consultancy project for the Qatar Oil and Gas Sector.

Ray is no stranger to the Middle East, having spent time there during his 24-year military career, also as a consultant for an Emergency Response and Crisis Management organisation. The last 8 years in various oil spill response managerial roles in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, one being the Country Manager for an international Oil Spill Response Organisation (OSRO). The last role in the Middle East, before joining Spill Consult was a specialist with Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) Oil Spill and Hazardous Noxious Substances response department.

Some of his proudest achievements, as an expat, have been nationalizing his position as the Emergency Response and Crisis Management Practitioner. Writing the strategy document for Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) Oil Spill and Hazardous, Noxious, Substances response department. This led to gaining approvals to purchase five new, fit for purpose, spill response vessels, new equipment, and the increase in manpower to ensure that the department could meet the mandate of responding to two simultaneous Tier 2 marine spills in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). As well as being selected to represent ADNOC as a technical committee member, trainer and keynote speaker, at the Regional Clean Seas Organisation (RECSO) annual conference.

Connect with Ray! - Ray Ramsay LinkedIn

Jordan Wilson joined SpillConsult in 2023 as Consultant in Emergency Response and is based in Doha, Qatar. He is working in Offshore Emergency Response development for Energy Sector Operators to enhance Emergency Management Systems, plans and exercises, as well as help build a unified approach in responding to major incidents offshore.

Jordan has a Bachelor of Business Administration from Bishop’s University and has continued his education in Project Management at the British Columbia Institute of Technology. Jordan has a proven track record in oil spill response for the Energy Sector in Western Canada. His role in a 30-billion-dollar energy expansion project was integral to the significant enhancements made in oil spill response capabilities including the development of new response bases, vessels, and equipment over the past 5 years. His contributions to real incidents have also received recognition from the Canadian Coast Guard and Western Canada Marine Response Corporation having responded to numerous incidents throughout his career.

Connect with Jordan! - Jordan Wilson LinkedIn 

Tom started at SpillConsult in August 2022 on an internship as an IT Support Specialist. He has a degree in Cyber Security Management and a Master's in Human Factors and Cyber Security from Bournemouth University.

Tom  is responsible for our cyber security and dealing with IT issues. He works with our consultancy team to assist with scenario development for our cyber security exercises. He helps to create and update our Virtual Incident Command Posts for clients, and to develop our e-Learning training courses.

Connect with Tom! - Tom Cunningham LinkedIn

Karan joined SpillConsult in 2021, initially on secondment and now as part of our core team. 

She fulfilled a Project Data & Admin Lead role on secondment to one of our key customers, and is now our Management Admin support. In her role at SpillConsult, Karan helps with tender proposals and supports the Management team with day-to-day administration duties. 

Karan has a varied background in both large corporations and smaller businesses, and has experience in administration, co-ordination, and project management positions. 

Connect with Karan! - Karan Hayes LinkedIn

Siân joined the SpillConsult team in October 2023, as a Business Administrator to help assist with the day-to-day business operations with the front of office team.  This ranges from booking travel, procurement, purchase ledger, quality management (ISC9001) and general business support. 

She has a vast and varied background in both large and smaller businesses including working as an Executive Assistant, Office Manager, and various administration roles. 

She has broad knowledge in the travel industry.  She is skilled in exceptional communication, organisation, budgeting, diary management, and general administration. 

Connect with Siân! - Siân Wilshire LinkedIn