Experts for oil spill contingency plan meet

Accra, Aug. 20, GNA - About 40 experts in marine issues from 16 Africa countries are meeting in Accra to fine-tune a draft sub-regional oil spill contingency plan for preparedness and response to major spills.

The plan, which comes in the wake of more oil discoveries along the African coast stretching from Guinea Bissau in the north to Angola in the south, is to help participating nations to intervene jointly in cases of major spills either in territorial waters of a single nation or in a Tran-boundary spill.

The meeting is being organised under the auspices of the Interim Guinea Current Commission in cooperation with the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and the International Petroleum Industry Environmental Conservation Association (IPIECA). The United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) is supporting it. Professor Christopher Ameyaw-Akumfi, Minister, Harbours and Railways, noting the significance of the meeting, said it was being held at a time when maritime safety and the protection of the marine environment were receiving renewed attention and active support from all countries.

He said the plan would help all the partners share their limited resources in joint efforts to address incidents of pollution as well as provide a synergy that would lead to rapid response. Captain Aaron Obeng Turkson, Rector of the Regional Maritime Academy, appealed to the participants not to let the plans sit on shelves in their various countries but they should engage in occasional drills.

"In spite of the best preventive measure, the unexpected can and does happen," he said. It was therefore imperative that all effective steps were taken to put in place strategies capable of minimizing the consequences, should the worst occur, he added.

Capt. Turkson said contingency plans that anticipated pollution incidents were now regarded as critical components of the due diligence process that nations and regions could not ignore. He said lessons have shown that even with contingency plans there were still difficulties in dealing with major pollution incidents if they did occur, hence the need for all to be on the alert at all times. Capt. Turkson expressed the hope that the participants with their varied work experience and academic background would bring along a broad range of experience to bear on the strategies that would be developed at the forum.

"I believe that our ability to demonstrate our awareness of the reality of the risks involved in major pollution incidents must be formalized through some legal framework/agreement with an absolute requirement of a contingency plan and an arrangement on cooperation."

Mr. Malamine Thiam, technical officer, IMO, said the region was currently susceptible to major pollution from the petroleum exploration taking place offshore, hence the need for the contingency plan. "This meeting would enable us to formalize the project to be presented to the governments of the various countries for adoption," he said.

Dr. Chika Ukwe, Project Manager, UNIDO, pledged UNIDO's support for the contingency plan if adopted.

The meeting is under the theme: "The IGCC/UNIDO/IMO/IPIECA Second Meeting of the Technical Advisory Group on Development of Sub-Regional Contingency Plans and Sub-Regional Agreement for Co-operation in Cases of Major Marine Pollution Incidents". 20 Aug. 07