Seychelles Reviews National Oil Spill Contingency Plan
VICTORIA, Seychelles, Partners gathered at the Savoy Resort and Spa, Beau Vallon, yesterday to review the Seychelles National Oil Spill Contingency Plan. A National Oil Spill Contingency Plan is a plan that defines the roles, responsibilities and actions to be undertaken by partners before, during and after an oil spill emergency. The plan was last updated in 2005, with further plans to review in 2014 that did not materialise.
The country developed its first National Oil Contingency Plan in 2000. The last update was done in 2005, with further plans to review in 2014. The one-day workshop by the environment department will be followed by other consultative workshops and meetings with partners for further inputs to update the plan and bring it on par with the International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) standards. The review is being seen as a long-overdue step in modernising the country’s response to marine pollution incidents.
It is expected to be validated and presented to Cabinet for approval by the third quarter of this year, before becoming operational. Other than providing a standard approach and well-defined roles for all the agencies involved, the revision is to also take stock of available resources such as oil spill equipment. The updated plan will also reflect changes in the institutional landscape and lessons learned from past incidents in the region.
In his opening remarks, the principal secretary for environment, Denis Matatiken, said that although there have been some updates, the plan has never been validated and therefore it is outdated and needs to be reviewed. He noted it was imperative that this is done considering the Indian Ocean is well known to be a busy highway where more than 10,000 tankers and other vessels travel through annually, exposing it to risk of an oil spill incident. Given limited resources, the PS stressed the importance of being well prepared.
Peter Taylor, international consultant from the SAPPHIRE project under the Nairobi Convention, is assisting Seychelles with the revision and drafting of the plan. He noted that when drafting the plan, Seychelles has to ensure the organisational and government structures are in place and up to date, and that the latest information on the best way to respond to oil spills are incorporated into the document. He also noted that given that oil spills have an international dimension, this will have to be integrated into the national plan, and local authorities should bear in mind the involvement and expectation of ship owners who would step in to work alongside them. The workshop was attended by representatives of several government agencies, port authorities and civil society partners.
