SE Asia Plans Oil Spill Contingency

According to International Maritime Organization (IMO), one of the key elements in oil spill contingency planning is to define the communication channels to be used by cooperating parties when facing an incident.

A workshop in Pulau Indah, Klang, Malaysia (19-21 August) has 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.

Participants from nine countries got to grips with key elements of the plan and practiced communications between States, in order to identify any gaps and lessons to be learned.

The workshop will help drive forward the implementation of this recently adopted plan, said the UN body.

"This workshop is being carried out under IMO's Integrated Technical Cooperation Program and hosted by the Government of Malaysia and the Marine Department of Malaysia, at the Maritime Transport Training Institute, under the framework of the Global Initiative project for South East Asia (GI SEA), a joint project with the oil and gas industry (ipieca)," informed IMO.

It supports the implementation of IMO's Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Co-operation (the OPRC 90 Convention).

The Regional Oil Spill Contingency Plan provides for a mechanism whereby ASEAN Member States can request for and provide mutual assistance in response to any oil spills.

It also ensures a common understanding to enable the effective integration between the affected and assisting ASEAN Member States, in the event of incidents involving oil spills.