by: Nav Jeevan

ICG holds 25th National Oil Spill Disaster Contingency Plan and preparedness meeting at Vadinar

  • ICG conducts 9th National Level Pollution Response Exercise off Vadinar
  • The Indian Coast Guard functions as the Central Coordinating Authority for response to Oil spills in Indian waters

NE NEWS SERVICE

AHMEDABAD, NOV 26

The Indian Coast Guard conducted the 25th National Oil Spill Disaster Contingency Plan (NOSDCP) and preparedness meeting at Vadinar in Gujarat on Thursday and the 9th National Level Pollution Response Exercise off Vadinar on Saturday.

Rakesh Pal, PTM, TM, Director General, Indian Coast Guard, Chairman NOSDCP, chaired the meeting. More than 80 delegates from various Ministries, Central & State Government, Ports and Oil Handling Companies participated in the meeting.

The national capabilities with the common aim to ensure collective preparedness to respond to any oil spill contingency in Indian waters was reviewed during the meeting.

Presently, as the third largest importer of crude, India receives large volume of oil through ships. Similarly, India stands sixth in the world as major chemical importer country. Both oil and chemicals if spilled, pose inherent risks to the Maritime Zones of India and the connected coastlines housing large coastal population, marine eco-system, industries and various installations along with the supporting tourism industry. Preventive measures, by the Central Coordinating Agency, Ship Owners, Oil Handling Facilities and other concerned stakeholders are thus, required to be taken to prepare for combating any likely marine spill.

Director General Rakesh in his address, committed that the ICG is cognizant and prepared to counter the threats to the Region and its resources, including marine oil and chemical spills at sea. He stressed that as new vulnerabilities continue to emerge, the stakeholders must recognize the opportunity to enhance cooperation through stronger partnerships, effective coordination and imbibing best practices of the developing technologies. He also stated that Indian Coast Guard is indigenously building two more state of the art Pollution Response Configured Specialized Vessels besides the three existing, to further bolster Pollution Response Capacity.

9th National Level Pollution Response Exercise held off Vadinar

The 9th National Level Pollution Response Exercise (NATPOLREX-IX) was conducted by the Indian Coast Guard on Saturday off Vadinar, Gujarat. DG Rakesh Pal, Director General Indian Coast Guard, and the Chairman NOSDCP reviewed the preparedness of all agencies during the exercise. Representatives of various ministries and departments of central and coastal state governments, ports, oil handling agencies, and other stakeholders participated in the exercise. More than 31 foreign observers and 80 delegates participated in the exercise.

The NATPOLREX-IX accomplished its objective of testing the level of preparedness and coordination between various resource agencies to respond to a marine oil spill invoking provisions of the National Oil Spill Disaster Contingency Plan or NOSDCP.

The ICG deployed surface as well as air platforms, including Pollution Response Vessels (PRVs), Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs), indigenous Advanced Light Helicopter Mk-III, and Dornier Aircraft configured for marine pollution response. The event also showcased India’s industrial prowess in terms of the ‘Make in India’ thrust under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’. The stakeholders like major ports also deployed their maritime assets for showcasing synergized efforts in combating marine pollution.

The Indian Coast Guard functions as the Central Coordinating Authority for response to Oil spills in Indian waters.