Spill Preparedness and Response – A Collaborative Effort
International Maritime Organization (IMO) has joined leading oil spill experts and stakeholders to discuss future issues concerning oil spill preparedness, response and restoration – at the Interspill 2018 conference and exhibition in London (13-15 March).
Speaking at the opening session, IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim said that “many years of collaborative work between governments and industry, at IMO, have helped reduce dramatically the number of oil spills and the amount of oil spilt from ships”.
Lim outlined how individual incidents had been catalysts for significant improvements, through IMO regulations, in areas such as ship design, operation, disposal of engine room wastes, as well as the framework for compensating the victims of pollution incidents.
He also highlighted IMO’s continuing support, with assistance from a number of key partners, to countries to improve their capacity in preparing for, and dealing with, major incidents that might result in pollution damage.
During the conference, IMO’s Patricia Charlebois will present contributions of GESAMP as part of the science workshop on hazardous and noxious substances (HNS) pollution, and Colleen O’Hagan will chair a session on government/industry partnerships.
Additionally, IMO’s latest environment-related publications, e-reader software (IMO Bookshelf) and IMO News Magazine are being showcased at by IMO Publishing’s Lee-Ann Dell and Sally McElhayer. The team are sharing a stand with the IOPC Funds. IMO and IOPC Funds are co-sponsors of the Interspill event.