Representatives of Indian Coast Guard, Coastal State Administrations & Union Territories, Central & State Departments, Major & Minor Ports, Oil Handling Agencies and Oil Installation Onshore on Thursday had brainstorming session on national preparedness in combating oil spills at Gujarat’s capital Gandhinagar.

Indian Coast Guard has been mandated for implementation of National Oil Spill Disaster Contingency Plan (NOS-DCP) by the Government and the 23rd meeting was conducted at Gandhinagar on 02 Aug 18. A total of 86 representatives of various agencies participated in the meeting.

Director General Rajendra Singh emphasised on the awareness around the globe with regard to protection of environment. He acknowledged the contribution of maritime stakeholders towards protection of marine environment and advised all stake holders to work with synergy for implementation of NOS-DCP provisions.

During the meeting, the Chairman awarded National Marine Environment Protection Certificates to Capt. T Srinivas, Deputy Conservator, Deendayal Port Trust and Capt. Sansar Chandra Chaube, Associate Vice President, APSEZ, Mundra Port for their valuable and timely contribution in successfully extinguishing fire onboard MV Genessa on 17 Jan 18, thereby preventing oil spillage of 30,000 metric tons High Speed Diesel (HSD) cargo.

He also awarded ‘Samudri Paryaavaran Sanrakshan Trophy’ to New Mangalore Port for their outstanding contribution in preserving environment and adopting environment friendly measures.

Indian Coast Guard has been recently mandated for combating oil and chemical spills in South Asian Seas Region in which Bangladesh, Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka along with India are party to Regional Cooperation under the umbrella of South Asian Co-operative Environment Programme (SACEP).

Session on combating oil spills held in Gandhinagar