The Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Response Centre for the Mediterranean Sea (REMPEC) is hosting a regional workshop on response to potential spill incidents involving hazardous and noxious substances (HNS), in Valletta, Malta, on 20-21 June.
Regional cooperation on oil and HNS spill response and contingency planning is an efficient and cost-effective way of preparing for possible spills – through the sharing of information, knowledge and/or response equipment, IMO noted.
A recent example of cooperation in this field was an agreement signed between Cyprus, Greece and Israel, following support from REMPEC.
IMO’s Roel Hoenders provided an overview of IMO’s recent achievements in marine environment protection, as well the Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Co-operation (OPRC), which has 112 contracting States. Parties to OPRC are required to establish measures for dealing with pollution incidents, either nationally or in co-operation with other countries.
He also emphasised the importance of ratifying the OPRC-HNS Protocol – which so far has only 39 Parties. Like the OPRC Convention, the OPRC-HNS Protocol aims to establish national systems for preparedness and response and to provide a global framework for international co-operation in combating major incidents or threats of marine pollution. Ships are required to carry a shipboard pollution emergency plan to deal specifically with incidents involving hazardous and noxious substances.
Numerous agencies and organizations are represented at the workshop, including the European Commission, EMSA, the HELCOM and Bonn Agreement Secretariats, as well as ITOPF, IOPC Funds, CEDRE, CETMAR and Transport Canada.
