Eritrea strengthens oil and HNS spill preparedness and response capabilities

A national workshop (6 – 8 October) brought together senior officials and operational focal points from across Eritrea to strengthen the country’s preparedness and response to oil and hazardous and noxious substances (HNS) spills. The event, held in Asmara, was aimed at enhancing Eritrea‘s spill preparedness and response capabilities.

The workshop focused on developing a National Maritime Pollution Contingency Plan for Eritrea. Key discussions included identifying the roles, responsibilities and requirements to effectively manage and mitigate maritime pollution incidents within the country’s maritime and coastal zones.

Sessions covered crucial areas such as coordination, emergency response strategies, incident management systems and the importance of a cohesive national approach to pollution response and environmental protection. To support the capacity analysis, participants were engaged in a number of working groups and table-top exercises to discuss how to best set up a national contingency plan and the requirements for efficiently managing potential environmental disasters.

The workshop is expected to strengthen coordination efforts and provide a platform for the development of Eritrea’s National Contingency Plan, ensuring that Eritrea is better prepared to protect its marine and coastal environments from potential oil and hazardous and HNS spill incidents.

A total of 46 representatives from the Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Marine resources, Ministry of Environment, as well as other government agencies, UN organizations and key industry stakeholders involved in responding to oil and HNS pollution incidents, participated in the training.

The workshop was organized through IMO’s Integrated Technical Cooperation Programme (ITCP) and builds on coordination work started between the Government, the IMO and other United Nations agencies over the past year.

Source : IMO