Oil Spill Contingency News

The IMO is urging Member States to contribute equipment to help UN-led efforts to prevent a possible catastrophic oil spill from the FSO Safer, an ageing and rapidly decaying floating storage offshore (FSO) unit moored 4.8 nautical miles off the Red Sea coast of Yemen.A converted super tanker, the FSO Safer contains an estimated 150,000 metric tonnes (approximately 1.1 million barrels) of crude oil, four times the amount spilled during the Exxon Valdez incident in 1989. It has been moored at Ras Isa since 1988 where it had been receiving…

The ongoing oil pollution incident from the grounded 203,000 DWT bulk carrier MV Wakashio is threatening an ecological catastrophe around the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius, endangering corals, fish and other marine life already under threat from climate change (IPCC 2018).In addition, it risks bringing devastating consequences for the economy, food security, health and tourism industry. Tourism in Mauritius - a popular destination for its pristine beaches - reportedly contributed about $1.6 billion to its economy during the last year…

The stranding of the MV Wakashio is one of the biggest environmental disasters in the history of the western Indian Ocean. While the full scale of the disaster is not yet known, the 1,000 tons of oil and diesel that leaked close to one of the greatest marine treasures of Mauritius threatens to destroy this precious habitat. Recovery will be long and the disaster will occupy Mauritius for years to come.Questions now arise: could the accident and the spill have been prevented? Was the country prepared?

Work is underway to further develop Viet Nam’s national oil spill contingency plan at a workshop in Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam, this week (26-29 November).Forty participants from across 10 government departments and the oil and gas and shipping industry are taking part in the workshop, which is the latest in a series of International Maritime Organization (IMO)-assisted events on oil spill contingency in South-East Asia.Participants are being introduced to international good practices and developments in the field of oil spill preparedness and response – and supported to identify areas for improvement in Viet Nam’s existing national framework.An action plan to finalize the draft National Oil Spill Contingency Plan will be agreed.Accession to IMO’s Oil Pollution Preparedness…

The Regional Clean Sea Organization (RECSO), an oil industry co-operative organisation in the Middle East, has hosted First RECSO Enviro Spill Conference and Exhibition.In delivering the keynote speech at the opening ceremony, Abdulhakim A. Al-Gouhi, vice president of Industrial Services with Saudi Aramco, called on members to collaborate to protect the pristine Gulf environment through prevention, preparedness, and response.“We come together to demonstrate our unlimited commitment toward protecting the marine environment from any harmful effects of pollution, in general, and of oil spills in particular,” said Al-Gouhi.He noted that Saudi Aramco demonstrated its expertise in oil spill mitigation at the height of the Gulf War in 1991…

Supporting countries to prepare for contingencies is an important part of International Maritime Organization (IMO) 's capacity building work.Thailand is the latest country to benefit from IMO assistance to update its oil spill contingency plan at a National Workshop on National Contingency in Bangkok (24-27 September).Thirty-five participants from 15 government entities and oil and gas  companies learned about the latest international best practices, and developments, in the field of oil spill preparedness and response and identified areas of improvement in their existing national plan.The workshop was organized under the framework of the Global Initiative project for South East Asia (GI SEA), a joint project with the oil and gas industry (IPIECA).

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…

Supporting countries to prepare for contingencies is an important part of International Maritime Organization (IMO) 's capacity building work.According to the UN body, Cambodia is the latest country to benefit from IMO assistance to update its oil spill contingency plan, by identifying country-specific risks and existing gaps in order to be able to respond effectively to oil spill incidents.A national workshop in Phnom Penh, Cambodia (6-9 August) has brought together 60 participants from 20 government entities and oil companies.Attendees received an overview of the international framework for oil spill preparedness and response and are…

The Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Response Centre for the Mediterranean Sea (REMPEC),  the IMO-administered pollution emergency response centre in the Mediterranean, has delivered a national training course in oil spill response in Montenegro.International Maritime Organization (IMO) said in a press release that the course was designed to prepare the competent national authorities to co-ordinate and manage responses and make decisions on strategies and tactics to be used in clean-up operations.It was aimed at supervisors and on-scene commanders, the release said.The training course will help Montenegro implement the International Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness…

International Maritime Organization (IMO) technical assistance and institutional support has been instrumental in the recent adoption of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Oil Spill Contingency Plan.IMO said that the plan was adopted by the 24th ASEAN Transport Ministers Meeting, held in Bangkok, Thailand (8 November). The Regional Oil Spill Contingency Plan provides for a mechanism whereby ASEAN Member States can request and provide mutual support in response to any oil spills.It also ensures a common understanding and effective integration between affected and assisting ASEAN Member States, in the event of incidents involving oil spills…

Myanmar is the latest country to benefit from International Maritime Organization (IMO)’s work to enhance marine oil spill preparedness and response in the ASEAN region.A press note from the UN agency informed that a training course for senior officials and members of the national oil spill management team is taking place in Yangon, Myanmar (12-14 November).The training is focused on the effective response to oil spills, including on both managing risks from shipping and incident management. It builds on on-going efforts by the Myanmar National Task Force for the development of the National Oil Spill Contingency Plan, which is reaching finalization.The training course coincides with the completion of the plan…

Oil spill contingency planning is in the spotlight at an IMO regional workshop in Pulau Indah, Malaysia (2-6 July). The workshop is helping countries (ASEAN Member States: Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and Singapore.) in South East Asia become more familiar with the ASEAN Regional Oil Spill Contingency Plan - designed to enhance cooperation between States. Participants are reviewing a number of aspects of the plan and exercising 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).

John “Jack” J. Gallagher, a maritime industry veteran and environmental services pioneer, passed away on Monday at the age of 89.Jack’s greatest professional passion was his work as a Spill Manager/Qualified Individual, a role in which he had few peers. Jack was known to be fiercely committed to doing everything morally possible to protect his clients, while at the same time doing all within his power to protect the environment. He attended and helped shape the outcome of more maritime casualties and oil spills than can be remembered.Over the course of his long and fruitful career…

Emergency preparedness and response in the oil and gas sector was at the core of a workshop held in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea (7-10 May). The aim of the workshop was to strengthen the country's capacity to prepare for and respond to marine pollution from oil spills. This workshop follows on from a series of events developed with the Republic of Equatorial Guinea with a view to making recommendations to improve the national preparedness and response system in the country, including a more robust national oil spill contingency plan. The course also focused on the International Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Co-operation (OPRC), which deals with pollution incidents, either nationally or in cooperation with other countries.

A regional conference of countries in west, central and southern Africa has committed to continue to work at both national and regional levels to boost preparedness to deal with oil spill incidents which could be devastating both for the marine environment and financially. The conference (6-9 November) in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, was hosted by CIAPOL, the Ivoirian pollution control centre. It brought together industry and government focal points from 20 out of 22 west, central and southern African countries covered by the Global Initiative for West, Central and Southern Africa (GI-WACAF). This project is run by the International Maritime Organization (IMO)…

A tanker collides with an unknown ship off the Ivorian coast, causing a major oil spill. This was the scenario of an oil spill training exercise that took place in Abidjan and Assinie, Côte d’Ivoire (8-9 June). The deployment exercise involved more than 100 participants from various public institutions and the private sector, working together to fight the simulated spill, first at sea and then ashore. The event tested Côte d’Ivoire’s National Oil Spill Contingency Plan, which has been developed over recent years with support from the Global Initiative for West, Central and Southern Africa (GI WACAF) – a joint IMO-IPIECA project. Following the training…

Longer than four football fields, as big as six Nimitz-class aircraft carriers and almost as tall as the Taipei 101 skyscraper, Royal Dutch Shell PLC is hoping that its record-setting, game-changing floating liquid natural gas (FLNG) facility will serve as a prelude to a killing in the offshore LNG market. It’s not alone. Many industry observers believe FLNG will do for gas offshore what fracking has done for shale or natural gas trapped in the ground on shore. “This is revolutionary technology …[that]… has the potential to change the way we produce natural gas…

Eni Norge AS awards DNV GL a framework agreement for the supply of inspection services to the Goliat platform in the Barents Sea. The term of the contract is three years, with an option for a two-year extension. The assignment consists of planning and carrying out inspections of static equipment, load-bearing structures and offloading and anchoring systems aboard the Goliat FPSO during its operational life. The contract, which will help further reinforce the petroleum cluster in Northern Norway, is in line with Eni Norge’s ambition to create spin-off effects connected with the Goliat project. DNV GL has experience of working for Eni Norge from the company’s Harstad section, for example in the field of oil spill contingency.

Last month Oil Spill Response Limited (OSRL), a global oil spill response cooperative funded by more than 160 companies, opened its new base with enhanced response capabilities at Loyang in Singapore. Maritime Reporter took the opportunity to speak with Robert Limb, OSRL Chief Executive, regarding the significance of OSRL’s expansion. The opening of the base last month in Singapore was touted as a milestone event for the maritime and oil and gas industries in the Asia Pacific region…

Donjon Marine said that Paul Hankins, formerly President of Donjon-SMIT, LLC, has joined Donjon as Vice President of Operations-Salvage & Engineering Division. Hankins’ primary duties will involve Donjon’s U.S. Navy Salvage Services Contract, as well as its U.S. Coast Guard Basic Ordering Agreement (BOA). “Donjon is pleased to welcome Paul to the Donjon team and we look forward to his expertise and management experience to help bolster our marine salvage activities,” said John A. Witte, Jr., Executive Vice President, Donjon Marine Co., Inc. A native of Washington, DC, Mr.

Washington State – Alaska – Non tank final rule & Washington State – Contingency Plan requirements. We refer to our circular no. B.613. As stated in that circular, every tank vessel and every other vessel over 300 GT is required under State law to file a contingency plan prior to entry into the waters of Washington State but that instead of filing his own plan an owner can subscribe to an umbrella oil spill contingency plan. Since publishing the abovementioned circular, Washington State Maritime Co-operative (WSMC) has changed its enrolment agreement and the version with footer “WSMC Enrolment Agreement – December 2013” conforms with the International Group’s guidelines on vessel response plans.

DNV’s summer students present results of work to develop a realistic concept for a year-round Arctic oil spill response system. The Norwegian students' project included requirements for people, vessels and equipment. DNV’s summer project is an annual programme organised during the summer months for students in their final year of a master’s degree programme. This year, ten students with varied cultural and academic backgrounds worked intensely on their project for seven weeks. The focus has been on developing an Arctic oil spill response system.

Russia is an energy superpower and the country has vast and rich natural resources. Besides gas and coal reserves (some of the largest in the world), Russia today is ranked as the world’s biggest oil producing nation accounting for well over 12% of the global output. Moreover, the country exports more than 70% of its oil to the world markets. That said, Russia’s output of oil amounts to a third of what collectively the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) produces. The country has relied on oil production for decades, however there has been a notable geographical shift.