Coast Guard for strict promulgation of contigency plans

Mumbai, July 24 (UNI) Four leading oil agencies are in the process of signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with various ports to effectively check maritime pollution in the region, Commander A Rajasekher, Inspector General of Coast Guard (Western Region) said today.

Addressing the media after a meeting of the Regional Oil Spill Disaster Management Contingency Plan held at the regional headquarters here, Commander Rajasekher said ''All the ports and oil agencies are supposed to have at least tier-1 capabilities for oil spill response. Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) and Reliance Petrochem are in the final stages of inking an MoU with Mumbai Ports Trust (MbT), Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), Murmagao port in Goa and Kandla Port Trust (KPT) to pool their resources in effectively dealing with the maritime pollution response, mainly on account of oil spills,'' he said.

He said during the meeting, the Coast Guard, being the nodal national authority for Maritime pollution response, called for strict promulgation of contingency plans to combat oil pollution response at the sea or in the harbour.

Besides the senior Coast Guard officials, the meeting was attended by representatives of Shipping Corporation of India (SCI), Goa and Maharashtra Control Pollution Control Board officials, BPCL, ONGC, IOC, Reliance and Essar.

UNI