Tag: oil spill preparedness

The Nordic countries will join forces for an major oil and chemical protection exercise, 25-29th September, in Langesund part of the SCOPE 2017 project which is being organised by the Norwegian Coastal Administration on behalf of the European Commission.

US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said that its staff took part at the International Oil Spill Conference, on May 15-18, where a series of technical demonstrations took place, providing an up-close look at the evolution of oil spill response capabilities over the past 25+ years.

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore organised a multi-agency joint chemical spill exercise, in order to test and demonstrate Singapore’s readiness to tackle oil and chemical spills. The exercise took place at the conclusion of the 10th International Chemical and Oil Pollution Conference & Exhibition, held in conjunction with the Singapore Maritime Week 2017.

The US Coast Guard summarizes the multinational exercises undertaken under the auspices of the Arctic Council for oil pollution preparedness and response in the Arctic.

BSEE informs that the eight member nations of the Arctic Council recently conducted an Emergency Prevention, Preparedness and Response (EPPR) Work Group meeting in Montreal for a simulated oil spill response exercise.

A symposium marking the 20 year anniversary of the International Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Co-operation (OPRC) is being held in Tokyo, Japan (28-29 January).

 Stronger rules and enforcement to protect beaches and marine environment are needed in the wake of new information that more than 360 oil spills have occurred in New Zealand waters since the 2011 Rena disaster, Green Party environment spokesperson Eugenie Sage stated.“With summer just around the corner, we need better ways of protecting the beaches and seas that are so important to Kiwi ways of life,” Green Party environment spokesperson Eugenie Sage said.“Every New Zealander has a birthright to swim in clean water, lie on clean sand, and catch fish that are safe to eat.“The fact that people and vessels have spilled nearly four tonnes of oil and fuel into New Zealand’s coastal waters, in 363 spills in the last four years, shows that the current system isn’t working. Stronger rules, enforcement, and response capability are needed.“The Green Party has a plan to protect beaches and the marine environment. Our plan includes through introducing compulsory shipping lanes like Norway and the UK have to reduce the risk of collision, improving Maritime New Zealand’s oil spill preparedness and response capability, holding people who spill oil financially accountable, and stopping risky deep sea oil drilling," said Ms Sage. Source: Green Party In the start, I was ...

From 29 September to 2 October 2015, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) Academy will host technical experts from 10 ASEAN member States who will gather for the first time for a Regional Workshop on the Development of a Regional Spill Contingency Plan for ASEAN. The workshop is jointly organised by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and the MPA Academy.During the workshop, participants will discuss regional spill strategies and draft the contingency plan for the region. This is a significant step following the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding on the ASEAN Oil Spill Response Action Plan last year. It signifies the close cooperation among the ASEAN member States in oil spill preparedness and response.During the four-day workshop, MPA Academy will also share its own contingency plan to respond to oil spills as well as hazardous and noxious substances. The MPA Academy will also host a visit to the Port Operations Control Centre (POCC). The POCC is equipped with a Vessel Traffic Information System capable of monitoring and tracking up to 10,000 vessels and integrating data from various sources. The POCC is also an important venue which acts as the main Emergency ...

 The U.S. Coast Guard's National Pollution Funds Center (NPFC) has responsibility for disbursements from the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund (Fund).The Fund enables the Coast Guard and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to respond to oil spills. The Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA) authorizes the Fund to pay for certain damage claims and oil removal costs. The federal government may subsequently seek reimbursement of these costs from responsible parties.Damage claimsGAO found that for fiscal years 2011 through 2013, internal controls were designed and implemented to reasonably assure that damage claim expenses were appropriately disbursed from the Fund.Oil removalGAO identified several internal control deficiencies, which demonstrated that NPFC was unable to reasonably assure that oil removal disbursements were appropriately disbursed from the Fund. GAO's statistical tests of oil removal disbursements less than or equal to $500,000 identified design and implementation control deficiencies involving invoices that lacked required certifications, high visibility spills that were not identified, and missing supporting documentation for some costs. Also, GAO identified other issues, including that NPFC lacked policies and procedures for tracking and reconciling cash advances to EPA.NPFC has established a system of internal controls for the designation and billing, as appropriate, of responsible parties. For ...

 A two-day bilateral exercise between the Congo and Gabon to test the lines of communication in case of a trans-boundary oil spill incident is concluding in Pointe-Noire, the Congo and Libreville, Gabon (14-15 September). The exercise, which was conducted in real-time with a prearranged script, simulated an oil spill incident impacting the Gabonese and Congolese coastlines. The objective was to identify gaps in oil spill contingency plans in both countries and help improve communication procedures between the two countries in the case of a real trans-boundary oil spill incident. The exercise also sought to encourage the sharing of technical information to better coordinate the response as well as to initiate discussions on topics such as mutual aid and allocation of resources. This exercise was organised within the framework of the Global Initiative for West, Central and Southern Africa (GI WACAF Project​), a partnership between IMO and IPIECA, the global oil and gas industry association for environmental and social issues. The event gathered delegates from different ministries and agencies as well as representatives from the Oil & Gas industry. The Department of Environmental Affairs of Gabon and the Ministry of Transport, Aviation and Shipping of the Congo hosted the exercise simultaneously.Source and ...