Oil spill contingency planning was in the spotlight at an IMO regional workshop in Pulau Indah, Malaysia, on 2-6 July. The workshop aimed at helping ASEAN Member States become more familiar with the ASEAN Regional Oil Spill Contingency Plan – designed to enhance cooperation between States.
ASEAN Member States include the following South East Asian countries: Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and Singapore. The participants reviewed a number of aspects of the plan and exercised its communication procedures.
IMO has long supported regional cooperation and capacity building in oil spill preparedness and response, including through a joint project with the oil and gas industry – the Global Initiative project for South East Asia (GI SEA).
The workshop is being carried out under IMO’s Integrated Technical Cooperation Programme and hosted by the Government of Malaysia and the Marine Department of Malaysia, at the Maritime Transport Training Institute.
IMO is represented by Josephine Uranza, the Organization’s Regional Coordinator for the Asia and Pacific Sector. Expert support comes from Petronas, PIMMAG, ITOPF, OSRL and the GI SEA Project.
Earlier in June, the ASEAN countries launched an initiative to improve the environmental health of the seas in South-East Asia, through the implementation of key IMO marine environment protection treaties.
