Secretary of Defense Dr Ajay Kumar unveiled, on April 19, 2022, an 8-day two-day National Response Plan, ‘NATPOLREX-VIII’, conducted by the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) near the port of Mormugao, Goa. The recession was opened by the Secretary of Defense in the presence of the Secretary, Department of Earth Sciences Dr M Ravichandran, Director General ICG Shri VS Pathania, DG South Asia Cooperative Environment Program (SACEP) DrMdMasumur Rahman and various dignitaries from the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, National Disaster Response Force, India Meteorological Department, Indian Navy and State Pollution Control Board, Goa. The event was attended by more than 85 participants from 50 organizations, including 29 spectators from 22 friendly foreign countries as well as International Organizations and two Coastal vessels from Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
Aims to ensure procedures and guidelines
The purpose of NATPOLREX-VIII is to improve the readiness and responsiveness of all stakeholders in the fight against seawater. It aims to ensure procedures and guidelines as contained in the National Oil Spill Disaster Contingency Plan (NOSDCP) at national and regional levels under the SACEP MoU of which India is a member. During the exercise, various sections of the NOSDCP were asked to verify and improve emergency plans and assess the readiness of resource structures and stakeholders to address any sea-level disaster.
During the exercise, 13 ships and 10 aircraft from ICG, one C-131 aircraft from the Indian Air Force, two ships from SACEP member states namely. Sri Lanka and Bangladesh as well as one Offshore Supply (OSV) ship from ONGC, goods from the Shipping Corporation of India and towing from the Mormugao Port Trust have shown the presence of seawater drainage by hand sweeping, shipping boom with traffickers, broadcasting a single used ship. cum recovery system, fire extinguisher, rescue operation, and demonstration systems for dispersing oil spills.
Secretary
This work is co-ordinated by the ICG which incorporates assets from resource agencies and stakeholders including Ports, Oil Management Centers, Coastal Region / Union Districts and other resource centers. The work included a two-day program that included exercise on the table, a workshop to address Marine Oil pollution and the HNS spill followed by a sea exercise, which was reviewed by the current NOSDCP Chair by National and International Observers.
In addition to NATPOLREX, ICG simultaneously conducts skills development training courses in Marine Oil Response and Preparedness to 45 international participants from 18 countries including member states of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) in Chennai from April 18-29, 2022.
