Transcript Document 7512605

Preparedness, Response and
Cooperation for Oil and Chemical
Incidents
OPRC & HNS - Recent
Developments and New
Challenges
Patricia Charlebois
IMO
Overview
• International legal framework
• Obligations under the OPRC Convention
& HNS Protocol
• The role of IMO
• The OPRC-HNS Technical Group
• Policy implications and challenges in
developing mechanisms for HNS
International Legal Framework
There are a number of conventions aimed
at protection of the marine environment
from pollution from ships
• Main Instruments are:
– Prevention: MARPOL 73/78
– Preparedness & Response:
OPRC 1990 and its HNS Protocol 2000
Background
• The OPRC Convention was initially
established in 1990 following the Exxon
Valdez disaster in March 1989
• The Convention entered into force five
years later in May 1995.
• The HNS Protocol followed in 2000, in
recognition of the increasing threat of
pollution incidents involving chemicals
• The HNS Protocol has yet to enter into
force
The OPRC Convention & HNS Protocol
• The OPRC Convention, as the
parent document, provides the
template for the HNS Protocol
• As such…
– The two are mirror pieces of
international legislation;
– structured and worded very similarly;
– covering oil spill response and HNS
response, respectively.
OPRC Convention and HNS Protocol
Both provide…
• a framework for the development of national
and regional capacity to prepare for and
respond to oil/HNS pollution incidents, and…
A platform to:
• facilitate international co-operation and
mutual assistance in preparing for and
responding to major oil/HNS pollution
incidents
Obligations of parties
- National level 1. A requirement for pollution emergency plans for:
– Ships; offshore oil operations; ports and oil/HNS handling
facilities
2. Reporting:
– Requirement reporting any observed event involving the
discharge of oil/HNS to the nearest coastal State
or State with jurisdiction
3. A national system for responding to Oil/HNS
pollution incidents which includes:
– a national contingency plan
– designated national authorities
– an identified national operation focal point (or focal points)
4. Preparedness and response capacity
– Individually or through bilateral/multilateral
co-operation: Pre-positioned equipment; programme of
exercises and training of personnel; plans and
communication capabilities; a mechanism for
coordinating the response
Obligations of Parties
- International level Requirement for…
• Informing neighbouring States of
spills which could affect them
• Providing assistance
if requested by
another party
• Parties agree, to the
extent of their
capability, to provide
international
assistance to other
State parties, and;
• Requesting Parties
agree to facilitate
the receipt of such
assistance
in-country
• Involve oil, chemical & shipping industries in
preparedness & response activities
Global Response Framework for Oil
Spills
TIER 3
Mobilization of all available
national resources and
possibly regional and int’l
systems--depending on size of
spill
TIER 2
Coordination of more than 1 source of
equipment/personnel
International
Multi-national
or Regional
National
INTER-REGIONAL
ARRANGEMENTS
BILATERAL &
MULTILATERAL
PLANS
COUNTRY PLAN
Area
TIER 1
Small spill within capability of individual
facility or harbour authority
INDUSTRY
APPROACH
Local
INTERNATIONAL
FRAMEWORK
The Role of IMO
1.
2.
3.
4.
Information Services
Education & Training
Technical services
Technical assistance
The OPRC-HNS Technical Group
•
A subsidiary body of the IMO’s Marine Environment
Protection Committee (MEPC)
The OPRC-HNS Technical Group that meets in
conjunction with MEPC to:
•
–
–
•
Share experiences among a network of partners –
Member States, Regional Agreements and Industry
develop tools, resources, manuals, guidance documents
and training courses to help assist countries in building
capacity
Plays an important role in helping countries in
understanding and implementing the OPRC
Convention and its Protocol and for improving
preparedness and response to oil and HNS
incidents at the national and international level
Recent developments
• Manual on Chemical Pollution
– Section 1 – Problem Assessment and Response
Arrangements
– Section 2 – Search and Recovery of Packaged
Goods Lost at Sea
• Introductory courses on preparedness and
response to HNS incidents
• Guidance document on planning and
response to chemical releases in the marine
environment –joint document with industry
• IMO web page providing information and
assistance for HNS incidents
The HNS Protocol-Challenges
Entry into force:
Twelve months after ratification by not less than
fifteen States, which are States Party to the OPRC
Convention.
Current status:
OPRC 1990
Number of
Contracting
Parties
% of
world’s
tonnage
85
64.31
(EOF 13-May-95)
HNS Protocol
2000
14
15.84
(not yet EOF)
Need only 1 more ratification for entry into force
of the HNS Protocol
Definition
• What is the definition of an ‘HNS’?
For the purposes of the Protocol…
“Hazardous and noxious substances
means any substances other than oil
which, if introduced into the marine
environment, is likely to create hazards
to human health, to harm living
resources and marine life, to damage
amenities or to interfere with other
legitimate uses of the sea”
HNS Protocol 2000, article 2 (2)
Challenges……
Oil:
• preparedness & response
well understood
• although different types,
some uniformity in
properties and behaviour
• approach and equipment
options are the same and
relatively standard
• relative danger and hazard
to human health is low.
HNS:
• response difficult or impossible.
Depending on substance
• wide variety of substances
• (8 million +)
• varying type and degree of
hazard
• completely different behaviour
from substance to substance
• potential for significant danger
(explosive, flammable) and
hazard to human health
(corrosive, toxic)`
Which means...
• Different risk and threat
scenario, approach and
knowledge-requirement
• Therefore, a completely different set
of skills, expertise and equipment
needed to respond to HNS incidents
Constraints to ratification and
implementation of HNS Protocol
-Maritime & Port Authorities
• Little expertise and knowledge of
HNS within these organizations or
even within the State
• Little or no equipment for HNS
response (protective equipment, pumps, detection
devices, etc…)
• Normally, this type of knowledge
and the necessary equipment
resides with Emergency Services in
developed countries i.e. Fire Brigade
Global Response Framework for Oil
Spills
TIER 3
Mobilization of all available
national resources and
possibly regional and int’l
systems--depending on size of
spill
TIER 2
Coordination of more than 1 source of
equipment/personnel
International
Multi-national
or Regional
National
INTER-REGIONAL
ARRANGEMENTS
BILATERAL &
MULTILATERAL
PLANS
COUNTRY PLAN
Area
TIER 1
Small spill within capability of individual
facility or harbour authority
INDUSTRY
APPROACH
Local
INTERNATIONAL
FRAMEWORK
Challenges to implementation
Building systems for response to HNS can be
time and resource-intensive taking into account:
– Training needs
– Equipment needs and maintenance issues
– Development and testing of plans for a new
type of incident
– Building relationships with a new set of partners
and stakeholder groups
– Translating into policy and regulations – i.e lack of a
list of identified substance in HNS Protocol
May be especially hard to justify in light of:
– Frequency of such incidents
– Timeframe for response-if even possible
Questions to be answered in
developing systems for HNS
• National Plan – Options
− Update existing oil spill plans to
accommodate HNS
− Separate plan
• Notification and reporting
– Can existing systems be modified
to accommodate HNS
requirements?
Questions to be answered in
developing systems for HNS
Developing response capacity
– This is the most difficult for countries to address in
terms of ratifying and implementing the Protocol.
Questions/concerns
• Limited expertise available in current structures
• How and where to access necessary training?
How to define training needs?
• How do we do it? How far do we go?
• What hazards will we/won’t we respond to
• What can we do ourselves? What can be
contracted out?
• How we can be sure that contractor’s will meet the
requirement?
Constraints
• Expensive and resource-intensive to
develop such capacity
• Facilitation of relationships/partnerships
with whole new constituency: chemical
industry, independent chemical spill
response organizations.
• Very few, if any, well-established
working models yet in place.
Summary
1. Oil spill response is well-understood and there are
relatively uniform and standardized approaches (and
equipment for response) for preparedness and
response to oil spills
2. HNS is much more difficult due to the wide array of
chemicals with widely differing hazards, properties,
and behaviours.
3. Expertise on HNS may not be readily available within
in maritime administrations (or even nationally) and,
if it does exist, the breadth of expertise is usually
limited.
4. Many complex practical and policy questions to be
considered when developing systems for HNS
5. Developing such capacity can be both time- and
resource-intensive (training, equipment,
instrumentation…).
Questions?