The eighteenth National Oil Spill Disaster Contingency Plan (NOSDCP) and preparedness meeting was held here on Friday.
The Director General Indian Coast Guard and Chairman NOSDCP, Vice Admiral Anurag G Thapliyal, chaired the meeting that was attended by a total of 70 delegates from various ministries, central and state governments, ports and oil companies.
Reviewing the past incidents, the Chairman noted that there has been no major oil spill since the last NOSDCP meeting. He appreciated the efforts put in by various resource agencies and stakeholders for cleanup of oiled mangroves at Sikka and Sarmat in the Gulf of Katchchh, capping of gas leak from ONGC well off Kakinada, and response to the fire onboard M.V. Amsterdam Bridge off Mumbai harbour.
He also highlighted that regular improvements like institution of NOSDCP circulars and their hosting on the Indian Coast Guard website will pave the way for expeditious flow of information to stakeholders. The Chairman also appreciated the first ever sample mobilization of equipment ex-OSRL Singapore during the National Pollution Response Exercise.
Vice Admiral Thapliyal urged all stakeholders to maintain the required inventory of oil spill response equipment and rehearse response procedures through regular conduct of mock drills and exercises.
He emphasised the need for periodical review of contingency plans in order to ensure swift and efficient mobilization of critical resources in the event of any oil spill contingency. (ANI)