A national workshop in Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam (26-29 November), brought together 40 participants from 10 government entities, and the oil and gas and shipping industry to to further develop Viet Nam’s national oil spill contingency plan. The workshop was organised under the framework of the Global Initiative project for Southeast Asia (GISEA).
The Ministry of Transportation, through the Directorate General of Sea Transportation (DGAT), held a National Command and Control Center Forum (PUSKODALNAS) for the Management of Oil Spill Emergency Management at sea, in Jakarta, from 12 - 14 Nov 2019.
The governing bodies of the IOPC Funds held sessions from Monday 28 to Thursday 31 October 2019 at the headquarters of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in London, UK.
A National Workshop on Claims and Compensation was organised by the Malaysian government from 17 to 19 Sep. The workshop addressed issues which arose from the cleanup of oil which was spilt following the collision between APL DENVER/ WAN HAI 301 in 2017.
The Inter-agency exercise was held as a post-conference event on the last day of ICOPCE 2019, and participated by 150 personnel from 20 agencies.
Organised by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), the biennial event brings together stakeholders from various government agencies and the industry.
The Cooperation Forum (CF) is an annual meeting under the framework of Cooperative Mechanism on Safety of Navigation and Environment Protection in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore, carried out in rotation by the 3 Littoral States of Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.
A National Workshop was held in Bangkok, from 24 - 27 Sep, to support the effort to update and enhance the oil spill contingency plan of Thailand, in light of lessons from recent oil spill incidents, and anticipated changes in legislation.
A workshop was held in Manila, Philippines, from 17 - 20 Sep, to equip trainers from 5 ASEAN Member States with the necessary skills to effectively deliver training on emergency response, preparation and planning, based on the IMO OPRC Model Courses, within their jurisdictions.
IPIECA's Executive Director, Brian Sullivan, acknowledges IPIECA's contribution to advances in industry performance over it's 45 year history.
A 'Consignment Discussion Meeting on the Ratification of the 1990 OPRC Convention' was held at the SwissBellin Kemayoran Hotel, Jakarta, on 30 Aug 2019; this marked an important step towards accession to the convention.
The Rayong Oil Spill Exercise 2019 (ROSE 19) took place on 20-21 Aug at the Map Ta Phut Rayong Industrial Land (RIL), Rayong Province, Thailand.
IPIECA and a number of shipping, refining, fuel supply and standards organizations have worked together to produce Joint Industry Guidance on the supply and use of 0.50%-sulphur marine fuel.
A regional workshop in Pulau Indah, Port Klang, Malaysia (19-21 August) brought together officials from states in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), to help bring into operation the Regional Oil Spill Contingency Plan, which was adopted in 2018.
A national workshop in Phnom Penh, Cambodia (6-9 August) brought together 60 participants from 20 government entities and oil companies to work towards an action plan to finalise and implement the national oil spill contingency plan. The workshop was organised under the framework of the Global Initiative project for Southeast Asia (GISEA).
The multilateral biennial Maritime Pollution Exercise will see participation and involvement of stakeholders from the oil industry, representing a common interest to prevent oil spills and mitigate their impact. In addition to observing the exercise, GISEA will support the Philippine Coast Guard in the delivery of a seminar encompassing topics on shoreline assessment operation, and liability and compensation.
The exercise will be held in Davao, Philippines, from 1 to 5 Jul, based on the Sulu-Sulawesi Oil Spill Response Network Plan, and in the spirit of the ASEAN Regional Oil Spill Contingency Plan.
The new guidance document aims to assist practitioners in identifying steps necessary for the oil and gas industry when negotiating and structuring agreements with communities.
The document summarises the work achieved by IMO and IPIECA under the Global Initiative (GI) programme.
A new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine examines the effects and efficacy of using dispersants in marine oil spill response.
Maritime and Coastguard Agency issued the updated guidelines for ports to ensure a co-ordinated local and national response to an oil spill
ITOPF 2018 Tanker Oil spill statistics were published on 10 January 2019. The number of oil spills involving tankers remains low with three spills of over 700 tonnes, and three medium spills (7–700 tonnes) reported in 2018.
For more information, visit ITOPF website at the link provided.
The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE) has issued a circular to regulate marine oil spill cleanup and recovery efforts.
Under the circular, an initial and preliminary investigation and assessment on the level of pollution will be made within the first 10 days after an oil spill is reported. If the investigation shows the level of oil in the water is higher than national standards, a more detailed assessment on environmental damage will be completed within 20 days after the preliminary investigation results. The detailed assessment result will be used to classify the oil spill’s impact on the environment.
More details available at the link below.
In 2018, unmanned systems have been tested in several countries by several leading companies. Read about the exciting and new technologies currently being tested around the globe to ensure safer oil spill responses and improved monitoring effectiveness from the article below.
Director General of Sea Transportation recently organised a Forum on National Command and Control Center for Emergency Relief Operations and Marine Oil Spill in Jakarta on 12th December 2018.
The Forum aims to exchange information from various agencies under the National Team (PUSKODALNAS) to support the implementation of a coordinated system for managing oil spill emergencies in the country.
A new winterized version of an established spill recovery system has passed initial trials for operations in Arctic environments, demonstrating its ability to soak up oil in icing conditions.
Details available in the full article from the Link below.
Interesting article on about the industry's preparation on for the Sulphur Cap 2020.
UK's NovaSAR-1, the first Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellite can be used to detect oil spills as well as suspicious shipping activity.
Read more from the link below.
The National Contact Points of the Gulf of Thailand Cooperation on Partnerships in Oil Spill Preparedness and Response has agreed for the finalisation of the Sub-regional Oil Spill Contingency Plan for the Gulf of Thailand and adoption scheduled in November 2019.
The Indonesian government, through the Directorate General of Sea Transportation, and the Australian Government, through the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA), signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Transboundary Marine Pollution Preparedness and Response.
Indonesia and Australia have discussed this MoU since 2016 to develop a stronger understanding, between the two countries, in the fields of preparedness, prevention, response and mitigation to combat marine pollution. It will replace the 1996 MoU between the two countries concerning Prevention and Control of Oil Pollution.
IMO recently conducted an intensive 5-day workshop for lawyers and legislative drafters to support the drafting of domestic implementing legislation of IMO treaties. It provides the participants with the tools they need to understand IMO treaties and how they are developed and adopted. The most recent such workshop was held at IMO Headquarters from 1 - 5 October 2018.
For more details, visit IMO website.
IMO organised a four-day workshop in Bali, Indonesia (18-21 September) provided lawyers, policy makers and legislative drafters with a meaningful insight into IMO processes and procedures in developing international rules and examining how to effectively implement IMO conventions into domestic legislation.
For more information, visit IOPC's website from link below.