Panaji, April 12, 2015 …. The Twentieth National Oil Spill Disaster Contingency Plan (NOSDCP) and Preparedness meeting was held at Goa recently.
Vice Admiral HCS Bisht, AVSM, Director General Indian Coast Guard, Chairman NOSDCP, chaired the meeting. A total of eighty delegates including representative of various Ministries, Central and State Government departments and agencies, Ports and Oil Companies attended the meeting.
A highlight of the meeting was the release of the revised National Oil Spill Disaster Contingency Plan by Vice Admiral HCS Bisht, AVSM Chairman NOSDCP. The comprehensively revised 2015 edition of the NOSDCP reflects current international norms and best practices, key relevant national regulation, experience gained since publication of first edition in Jul 1996 and valuable inputs received from stakeholders to the national plan. While the earlier editions of the NOSDCP covered only oil spills, the revised edition initiates national preparedness and response to HNS incidents also.
Yet another highlight of the meeting was the release of the Online Oil Spill Advisory (OOSA) system by Dr SSC Shenoi, Director Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services. The OOSA system developed by INCOIS places India among a select group of countries to have indigenously developed an online prediction system for movement of oil spills and significantly enhances the efficacy of national response to marine oil spills.
The 20th NOSDCP meeting reviewed the national capabilities with the common aim to ensure collective preparedness to respond to any oil spill contingency in Indian waters. Vice Admiral HCS Bisht also recollected the minor incidents of pollution damages over the past year and the oil spill in Bangladesh which caused damage to the fragile eco system of the Sunderbans Delta and urged persons in charge of all ports and oil installations to review their plans and resources for oil spill contingencies in Indian waters.
