The Dutch know how to handle maritime emergencies. In the event of an oil spill, The Netherlands government, which owns its own ships and high-tech skimmers, gives an oil company 12 hours to demonstrate it has the spill in hand. If the company shows signs of unpreparedness, the government dispatches its own ships at the oil company’s expense. “If there’s a country that’s experienced with building dikes and managing water, it’s the Netherlands,” says Geert Visser, the Dutch consul general in Houston.
The Dutch (and several other European governments) offered to help out with the BP spill, very early on, with much more expertise than we have, and for free. The government refused, because their system was only 99% effective. I’m not usually a blame-the-government-first type, but that’s fucked up.
