Oil spills: Seychelles takes half in Western Indian Ocean Air pollution Regional Train 

By means of the train, the 2 regional centres will be capable of assess preparedness to answer oil air pollution incidents within the area. (Ministry of Inner Affairs)

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(Seychelles Information Company) – With the intention of additional strengthening regional response to air pollution incidents at sea, a three-day tabletop train is being organised in Seychelles for the western Indian Ocean, placing to check an current regional contingency plan.

Dubbed the ‘Western Indian Ocean Air pollution Regional Train (WIOPOLREX)’, the train is being organised collectively by the Regional Coordination Operations Centre (RCOC) and the Regional Maritime Info Fusion Centre (RMIFC) from July 25 to July 27.

By means of the train, the 2 regional centres will be capable of assess preparedness to answer oil air pollution incidents within the area, much like the incident on July 25, 2020, the place MV WAKASHIO spilled roughly 1,000 metric tonnes of oil at sea, off the southeastern coast of Mauritius.

The principal secretary for the surroundings, Denis Matatiken, acknowledged that oil spills have boundaries and “regardless of its scale, an oil spill can wreak havoc on our ecosystems, inflicting devastating impacts on the surroundings and disrupting the fragile stability of marine life.”

Speaking to the press, the director of the Seychelles-based RCOC, Sam Gonthier, outlined that the present contingency plan “is an outdated one, a draft that has not been examined.”

“We shall be testing our contingency plan and we’ve requested all nations together with Seychelles, to take the plan that they need to take a look at it. All these nations have their plan however they haven’t examined them,” stated Gonthier.

Regional nations – Comoros, Djibouti, France (Reunion, Mayotte) Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, and Seychelles – and companions will hyperlink collectively for the tabletop train. These nations, with the assistance of worldwide companions, will work by simulated air pollution occasions within the respective territories.

“Every nation shall be examined on the way it will react to the occasion. There may also be an incident that shall be too giant for a rustic to cope with alone and as such must contact RCOC to coordinate a regional operation to assist with the disaster,” stated Gonthier.

The outcomes of the train will contribute to the implementation of the regional oil spill contingency plan, strengthen the regional coordination capability of the RCOC, and replace the RCOC’s normal working procedures to cope with a large-scale air pollution scenario in its space of operation.

It is going to additionally contribute to the implementation of nationwide management plans of the member states of the MASE agreements.