Regional states discuss ways to boost their responses to marine pollution incidents |26 July 2023
The tabletop exercise in progress
The Regional Coordination Operations Centre (RCOC) and the Regional Maritime Information Fusion Centre (RMIFC) have organised a regional simulation exercise entitled WIOPOLREX (Western Indian Ocean Pollution Regional Exercise) to respond to accidental pollution by oil, hazardous and noxious substances.
The exercise took place at Bois De Rose yesterday morning.
The overall objective of the WIOPOLREX exercise is to further strengthen regional cooperation in responding to marine pollution incidents, through the effective development of national capabilities.
In addition, the tabletop invites participating States to examine their marine pollution response preparedness and strategy as well as the ability to share information, react promptly and implement responses following their national oil spill contingency plan (NOSCP).
In his presentation, Captain Sam Gontier, director of RCOC, explained that the tabletop exercise WIOPOLREX is part of the overall action plan of the regional centres to improve their capacity to coordinate and response to maritime incidents, together with riparian States.
“Lessons learnt from the oil pollution incident involving MV Wakashio on July 25, 2020 off the South-eastern coast of Mauritius (where approximately 1,000 metric tonnes of oil were spilt at sea) and other grounding and/or drifting situations occurred in Comoros, Madagascar, Seychelles and Reunion, clearly show that a country on its own cannot tackle all levels of marine pollution,” he stated.
He explained that regionally there is an old draft that has not yet been tested. “We asked all the countries including Seychelles to take their current plan and test it out.”
Mr Gontier stated that all the countries, after the exercise, could refine their plans for all the potential issues that may come up. “Then we will do another exercise where everybody puts the boat in the water to test out the new plan and when they go to the Ministry of conference, the plan will be finalised and the regional and national plan can be presented where finally the Western Indian Ocean can have a contingency plan for oil spills, both national and regional.”
Principal secretary for Environment, Denis Matatiken, stated that the regional desktop exercise is a testament to the unwavering commitment to safeguarding the precious marine environment and responding swiftly and efficiently to accidental pollution by oil, hazardous, and noxious substances in the Western Indian Ocean.
“As we all know, oil pollution has no boundaries. Regardless of its scale, an oil spill can wreak havoc on our ecosystems, causing devastating impacts on the environment and disrupting the delicate balance of marine life,” he stated.
To begin with, he announced that the Nairobi Convention, through the SAPHHIRE project, has agreed to provide Seychelles with technical support for the review of its National Oil Spill Contingency Plan.
“This will enable us to fulfil our international and regional obligations. By 2024, we hope to have a new and improved plan in operation, ready to face any challenges that may come our way.”
This is crucial due to the fact that Seychelles has already designated 30% of its Exclusive Economic Zone, an area which covers more than 400,000 square kilometres, as legally protected. Furthermore, given the vast nature of the protected zones, PS Matatiken explained that it is crucial for Seychelles to implement effective monitoring systems to promptly address any potential oil spills that could pose a threat to our cherished Aldabra Atoll, one of the country’s two esteemed World Heritage Sites.
In his remarks, the charge d’affaires, US embassy for Mauritius and Seychelles, Jim Donegan, explained that the US through the Coast Guard and Navy has for many years coordinated with maritime security personnel in the Western Indian Ocean, including with Seychelles, on critical capacity building initiatives.
He referred to the grounding incident of the MV Wakashio vessel off the coast of Mauritius, which he said led to an oil spill destroying marine life and contaminating marine environments. “As a result, National Oil Spill Contingency Plans throughout the region have been updated and strengthened. As important, there has been recognition of the critical role of regional cooperation frameworks for nations to respond and work together more effectively on joint operations to mitigate the effects of such incidents,” he stated.
He concluded by stating that the exercise will draw on the expertise of maritime and other experts from 15 regional states, together with key international partners, to examine their abilities to respond to maritime spill disasters of various types.
“The exercise will also explore the role of the RCOC and RMIFC to support and enhance their ability to coordinate.”
In his address, the head of development cooperation, European Union Delegation in Mauritius and Seychelles, Miko Van Gool, said the regional Maritime Security Governance architecture in the Western Indian Ocean is quite unique and embraces a collaborative regional commitment and effort from all the countries to address the challenges related to various types of maritime crimes including maritime polluting.
“This is why the European Union is providing all its support through various regional programmes and mechanisms, to enhance the capacity of the countries of the region as well as the capacity of the RCOC and the RMIFC to be able to respond effectively to the increasing challenges,” he stated.
He said the importance of the Western Indian Ocean to the people cannot be overstated. The ocean is home to many of the world’s significant shipping lanes and the region is increasingly becoming an international shipping route for crude oil as more oil deposits are exploited.
“Thus the risk of major spills runs high if contingency plans to improve preparedness and response are not implemented.”
Furthermore, Mr Van Gool stated that the focus should be on preventing and mitigating the risk of pollution caused by oil or other hazardous substances which very often have impacts going beyond national jurisdictions.
“Our region’s sustainable development and our economy relies heavily on the Western Indian Ocean,” he stated. “To prevent another oil spill in the region, we must remain on a 24/7 alert and be ready to intervene anytime at all levels.”
Sunny Esparon
