The magnitude of oil spills in the oceans today demands swift and concrete action. It is not just the responsibility of a single nation, but a collective one, Coast Guard director-general (DG) Paramesh Sivamani said.
At the 27th National Oil Spill Disaster Contingency Plan (NOSDCP) meeting in Chennai on Sunday, Sivamani said the exercise would reaffirm the nation’s commitment towards protecting the ocean. “This is a biennial exercise and is aimed at proving that the Coast Guard is well-prepared to deal with any contingencies arising in the ocean,” he added.
In line with the NOSDCP, the 10th edition of the national pollution response exercise of the Indian Coast Guard will be held on Monday.
As many as 40 foreign observers and more than 100 national delegates representing ministries, central/state agencies, ports, and oil handling organisations took part in the meeting. Technical sessions on strengthening oil spill response readiness through enhanced cooperation and adoption of global best practices were held at the meeting.
The biennial exercise will be overseen by the Director-General, who will also assess the level of preparedness and synergy among the participating agencies. The ICG will deploy an array of pollution response assets, including ships and aircraft, and carry out drills to highlight its multi-tiered response strategy and reinforce the importance of coordinated maritime operations. The exercise is aimed at strengthening inter-agency cooperation and setting benchmarks in maritime environmental stewardship, operational readiness, and technological integration.
