Chemical Pollution News

Spain and International Maritime Organization (IMO) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding on technical cooperation activities to support capacity-building activities in English and Spanish-speaking countries.The UN body informed that these activities will support  implementation of its regulations, raise awareness of IMO's mandate and contribute to sustainable maritime transport and the implementation of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.The MoU covers a wide range of technical cooperation areas, including: search and rescue; maritime training and the human element; passenger ship safety; maritime communications and navigation…

Discussions on oil pollution prevention, preparedness and response took centre stage this week (20-24 May) at the latest edition of Spillcon 2019 in Perth, Australia.The forum included sessions on cause and prevention, response management and environmental issues.A raft of high calibre national and international speakers addressed the conference on their particular areas of expertise. However, this year, the audience also invited 12 to 15 years olds to join the event to learn more about issues related to environmental protection, oil and chemical pollution, preparedness and response. The curious students took part in a range of activities…

Later this year a major oil and chemical protection exercise dubbed SCOPE 2017 will be carried out in Norway. A joint project including major European and Scandinavian stakeholders, the simulated response to a combined oil and chemical spill aims to foster clearer communication and coordination of spill response across agencies and physical country boundaries. Stig Wahlstrøm, Project Manager SCOPE 2017, Norwegian Coastal Administration and Johan Marius Ly, Director, Department for Emergency Response, explain.

A joint oil and chemical protection exercise between the Nordic countries will involve more than 300 personnel and 30 vessels, making for one of the largest projects of its kind in European history. An increasing level of shipping traffic has led to a growing fear of accidents and an adverse risk picture. The accident involving M/V Full City in July 2009 on the coast of Langesund illustrated the crucial need for preparedness in dealing with accidents across national borders. To meet this aim, the Nordic countries will arrange a joint oil and chemical protection exercise September 25-29 in Langesund. Code-named SCOPE 2017 (Skagerrak Chemical Oilspill Pollution Exercise)…

To test and demonstrate Singapore’s readiness to tackle oil and chemical spills, a multi-agency joint chemical spill exercise was conducted on Friday. Organized by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) the exercise took place at the conclusion of the 10th International Chemical and Oil Pollution Conference & Exhibition (ICOPCE), held in conjunction with the Singapore Maritime Week 2017. ChemSpill 2017 comprised a tabletop management exercise at MPA's Port Operations Control Centre Vista and a full scale chemical and oil spill response equipment deployment. A total of 150 personnel from 25 agencies participated in the table top exercise and seaward exercise, located along Raffles Reserved Anchorage.

A meeting to update South Asia’s regional plan for oil and chemical pollution preparedness and response is underway in Male, Maldives (22-25 August), informs  International Maritime Organization (IMO). Senior officials from Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka are sharing their national experiences and consolidating updates to the plan with a view to finalizing it. The event includes a regional training workshop on hazardous and noxious substance (HNS) spills preparedness and response. Moving forward, the participants will also identify future training needs and develop a three-year training programme to enhance the region’s spill preparedness and response capacity.

Ecospeed will display the “CLEAN SHIP – EFFICIENT SHIP – GREEN SHIP – PARTNERSHIP” concept during the Europort Exhibition, November 5-8 in Rotterdam. The concept is based on achieving the lowest possible fuel consumption for a vessel during its entire lifetime in an environmental friendly way. CLEAN SHIP –  Ecospeed can be cleaned rapidly and will only improve in smoothness with each cleaning. The coating can be cleaned underwater without risk of chemical pollution to the environment or of damage to the coating.

Incident response and environmental clean-up specialist Braemar Howells and its sister company Braemar (Incorporating The Salvage Association) are to work together to provide a 24-hour global response capability to the world’s shipping and marine insurance sectors. In what is being seen as a key development in the expansion of Braemar’s Technical Services (BTS) division, both companies have formed Braemar Marine Salvage Support Services which will provide on-site distressed cargo management and salvage support services to salvors…

Incident response and  environmental clean-up specialist Braemar Howells and its sister company Braemar (Incorporating The Salvage Association) are to work together to provide a 24-hour global response capability to the world’s shipping and marine insurance sectors. In what is being seen as a key development in the expansion of Braemar’s Technical Services (BTS) division, both companies have formed Braemar Marine Salvage Support Services which will provide on-site distressed cargo management and salvage support services to salvors, owners and insurers, together with additional expert technical advisory services from within BTS ranging from resolving LNG operational problems to offshore engineering solutions.

The Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) is expected to adopt proposed amendments to the MARPOL Annex VI regulations to reduce harmful emissions from ships, when it meets for its 58th session from October 6-10 at IMO Headquarters in . The Committee will also continue its work on developing a mandatory regime to control greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from international shipping. The Committee has a packed agenda, which also includes the consideration of the draft ship recycling convention and issues relating to the implementation of the 2004 Ballast Water Management Convention. The draft revised Annex VI to the MARPOL Convention was agreed at the last MEPC session in April.

Maritime Administrator William G. Schubert will lead the U.S. delegation to the Ministerial Conference on Transport and the Environment in Tokyo, Jan. 15-16. This gathering of senior officials, many at the Cabinet level, represents 20 of the world’s largest economic powers. The conference will deal with four major topics: Transport and Counter-Terrorism, Urban Transport and the Environment, Development and Promotion of Environmentally Friendly Vehicles, and Prevention of Marine Pollution. In dealing with counter-terrorism, the conference will consider actions and initiatives taken by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and International Maritime Organization (IMO).