Last week’s oil spill drill at Ocean Shores helped federal, state, tribal and local governments, SeaRiver Maritime Inc., and private response contractors together to determine how best to respond to a major oil spill off the outer coast.

The May 13 and 14 exercise involved about 200 responders from the U.S. Coast Guard, Washington Department of Ecology, Makah Indian Tribe, SeaRiver Maritime, and other public and private entities.

The spill simulated a 3.6 million-gallon oil spill on Washington’s outer coast. As a result, the state says it is better prepared to respond to a catastrophic spill on the open ocean.