Unalaska, AK – While there might have been clean-up gear in Unalaska's waters yesterday, there wasn't an oil spill.

The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation conducted an unannounced spill drill. Delta Western Fuel was presented with a scenario where 42,000 barrels of number two fuel oil were released, and the company's employees simulated a clean-up to test their contingency plan.

John Kotula is the manager of the vessel section for the DEC, and he says these exercises provide both local communities and the state to see how prepared companies are for disasters.

"It gives us an opportunity to get a snapshot of what would happen if a spill were to occur," says Kotula.

The drill was coordinated by officials from the DEC, the Coast Guard, and two representatives from Delta Western.

The scenario involved a collision between a tanker ship and another vessel at the Delta Western dock. According to Tim Hunter at Delta Western, about 50 people were working on the drill locally. A 30-person incident management team in Anchorage also participated in the drill, working on the instant command system.

Drills like this are conducted across the state on a regular basis, but Kotula says it's been a while since one happened in Unalaska.

"A drill of this magnitude doesn't happen that often," says Kotula.

While the DEC will be drafting a comprehensive incident report on how the drill went, spill response was proceeding as expected yesterday.

The last major oil spill to occur in the region involved the M/V Selendang Ayu, which released over 8,000 barrels of bunker oil and diesel fuel.