TIME is of the essence when dealing with oil spills but it's not always possible to react rapidly when huge pieces of machinery need to be moved.

Now a Southampton-based organisation, which deals with oil spills worldwide, has carried out a successful test which means it can now move some of its massive capping equipment by air instead of sea.

Earlier this month Oil Spill Response Limited (OSRL) successfully completed its first transport test flight of a fully- assembled subsea 85-tonne capping stack.

OSRL – which employs 160 at its Southampton HQ has four of these massive stacks stationed around the world – in Norway, Singapore, Brazil and South Africa.

They are used to cap oil spills on the seabed following a blowout similar to the one which caused the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010.

After an extensive logistics study by Chapman Freeborn the huge Antonov An-124 was identified as the most suitable plane to carry the stack due to its capacity (ability to travel up to 5,000km with a 120-tonne payload) and its self-loading capabilities.

To move the complete capping stack – which stands around 8 feet high and 15 wide – in a single operation, OSRL worked with L+M to design and make a special frame.

The first test flight, took place at Sola Airport in Stavanger, Norway near OSRL’s base in Tananger.

Prior to the test it has only been possible to move the stacks by air if they were broken down into multiple payloads, and delivered on several Boeing 747 (or equivalent) transport planes, before being reassembled at the destination and moved to the incident site. Alternatively the fully-assembled stack would have to be transported by ship.

Chris Lund, technical manager for OSRL's SWIS (Subsea Well Intervention Services) team said: “When every minute counts, the number one priority is stopping the flow of hydrocarbons as quickly as possible. The ability to transport a fully assembled capping stack by air is a critical development for the industry.

"Sea transport remains the most likely mobilisation option for the majority of well sites, which is why we have four capping stacks strategically located in key upstream regions – fully assembled at storage bases with direct quayside access. But for wells in more remote areas, and for members looking to secure drilling licenses in new or remote exploration locations, this is a vital addition to our subsea capping and containment offering.”

OSRL thanked all its partners who took part in the successful test; Antonov Airlines, Asco Norge AS, Chapman Freeborn, Klepp Special Transport, L+M, News on Request, Nordic Crane and Trendsetter Engineering.