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Joint Maritime Test Facility Performs Crucial Research

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Joint Maritime Test Facility Little Sand Island

An overhead view of Joint Maritime Test Facility Little Sand Island during controlled test burns of diesel fuel done in conjunction with the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement. U.S. Coast Guard photo.


The Joint Maritime Test Facility (JMTF) is jointly operated by the Coast Guard Research and Development Center and the Naval Research Laboratory, with the primary purpose of developing technology and strategies for responding to fires and oil spills at sea. The facility’s prime asset is a burn pan: a tank used to simulate a real-world marine environment to test the burning of oil or fuel as a response to oil spills, known as in-situ burning. The JMTF is the only U.S. test facility able to conduct full-scale maritime test-burns of oil on a simulation of open water, including waves.

A recent Coast Guard Compass blog post profiles the JMTF in more detail.

For more information: Research, Development, Test and Evaluation program page and Joint Maritime Test Facility page