OPRC 1990

1. World Maritime University OPRC 1990 International Convention on oil pollution,preparedness, response and co-operation Professor Jan-Åke Jönsson

2. WHY OPRC ? It is necessary to preserve the human environment in general and the marine environment in particular, because oil pollution incidents involving ships, offshore units, sea ports, oil handling facilities are a serious threat posed to the marine environment

3. OPRC ARTICLE 1: GENERAL PROVISIONS Parties undertake, individually or jointly, to prepare for and respond to an oil pollution incident.

4. ARTICLE 3 OIL POLLUTION EMERGENCY PLANS FOR SHIPS AND OFFSHORE UNITS 1 (a) Ships shall have on board a shipboard oil pollution emergency plan (SOPEP) 1 (b) A ship required to have a SOPEP is subject to PSC 2 Operators of offshore units shall have oil pollution emergency plans, which are co-ordinated with the national system and approved by the national authority 3 Authorities or operators in charge of ports and oil handling facilities shall have oil pollution emergency plans which are co-ordinated with the national system and approved by the competent national authority SHIPS PORTSTATE CONTROL OFFSHORE UNITS PORTS

5. ARTICLE 4: OIL POLLUTION REPORTING PROCEDURES OWN DISCHARGE OTHER DISCHARGE PORTS INSPECTION AUTHORITIES AIRCRAFT (a) Mastersshall report: Any event on their own ship involving a discharge or probable discharge of oil, and Any observed event at sea involving a discharge of oil or the presence of oil, to the nearest coastal State (b) Persons in charge of sea ports and oil handling facilities shall report: Any event involving a discharge or probable discharge of oil or the presence of oil to the national authority (c) Maritime inspection vessels or aircraft and other appropriate services or officials shall report: Any observed event at sea or at a port or oil handling facility involving a discharge of oil or the presence of oil to the national authority or to the nearest coastal State (d) Pilots of civil aircraft shall report: Any observed event at sea involving a discharge of oil or the presence of oil to the nearest coastal State Reports shall be made in accordance with the requirements stated by IMO

6. ARTICLE 5: ACTION ON RECEIVING AN OIL POLLUTION REPORT 1. When a Party receives a report or pollution information it shall: (a) assess the event to determine whether it is an oil pollution incident (b) assess the possible consequences of the oil pollution incident (c) inform all States whose interests are affected or likely to be affected, together with (i) details of its assessments and any action taken, or intends to take, and (ii) further information as appropriate, until action to respond to the incident has been concluded or until joint action has been decided by the States. 2. If it is a severe oil pollution incident, the Party should provide IMO with information. 3. If it is a severe oil pollution incident, other States affected by it are urged to inform IMO of their assessment of the extent of the threat to their interests and any action taken or intended. 4. Parties should use the oil pollution reporting system developed by the IMO when exchanging information and communicating with other States and with IMO.

7. ARTICLE 6 NATIONAL AND REGIONAL SYSTEMS FOR PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE • A national system for responding to oil pollution incidents shall be established. • The system shall include as a minimum: (a) designation of: (i) the national authority with responsibility for oil pollution preparedness and response • (ii) the national operational contact point, which shall be responsible for the receipt and transmission of oil pollution reports • (iii) an authority to request assistance or to decide to render the assistance requested • (b) a national contingency plan for preparedness and response including the organizational relationship of the various bodies involved.

8. Structure of a contingency plan Strategical part Assessment of the spill Movement and persistence of the spill Resources at risk Selection of response techniques Equipment requirements Temporary storage on site and disposal options Outline of a response organisation Logistic support Documentation requirements

9. Structure of a contingency plan Operational part Notification procedures Evaluation of situation Response operation Cleanup operation Communications Terminations of clean up Review of contingency plan

10. ARTICLE 7:International co-operation in pollution response • Parties agree that they will co-operate and provide advisory services, technical support and equipment for the responding to an oil pollution incident upon the request of any Party affected or likely to be affected. The financing of the costs for such assistance shall be based on the provisions set out in the Annex to this Convention. • 2. A Party which has requested assistance may ask IMO to assist in identifying sources of provisional financing of the costs. • 3. Each Party shall take necessary legal or administrative measures to facilitate: • (a) the arrival and utilization in and departure from its territory of ships, aircraft and other modes of transport engaged in responding to an oil pollution incident • (b) the expeditious movement into, through, and out of its territory of personnel, cargoes, materials and equipment.

11. ARTICLE 10 PROMOTION OF BILATERAL AND MULTILATERAL CO-OPERATION IN PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE Parties shall endeavor to conclude bilateral or multilateral agreements for oil pollution preparedness and response. Copies of such agreements shall be communicated to IMO

12. ARTICLE 12: INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS • IMO is designated to perform the following functions and activities: • (a) information services • (b) education and training • (c) technical services • (d) technical assistance

13. OPRC 1990

14. OPRC – HNS Protocol 2000 Entered into force June 2007 The protocol includes harmful and noxious substances in the response system and requires Parties to the protocol to have a contingency plan and a ship to have a shipboard pollution incident emergency plan

15. OPRC 1990 • Equipment to be used for Oil Spill Combatting • There are basically two ways of respond to an Oil Spill: • Chemical Response: Applying dispersant from vessels and/or aircrafts. • Mechanical Response including booms and skimmers deployed and operated from vessels. • In a lot of countries there will be either restrictions or dispersant will not be allowed at all.

16. Dispersant is a chemical removing the surface tension inside the oil slick as well as between water and oil. This allows the oil slick to spread in a large number of small oil drops giving a larger surface for natural bio-degredation. Dispersant shall always be applied within 24 – 36 hours from the spill as the viscosity of the oil will increase due to weathering. When viscosity is higher than cSt 5,000 dispersant is normally not efficient. The water level should be more than 20 meters and with a high level of water exchange when applying dispersant Dispersant should not be applied near sensitive areas and normally never inside a relatively closed harbour.

17. Mechanical recovery of oil from water includes: Booms Skimmers Booms can be inflatable or solid float. Booms can only encounter and concentrate the oil layer on the water. Further a boom can be used as deflection barrier for guiding an oil slick to an area with low environmental sensitivity Booms used in harbours should be easy deployable (solid float). If the booms should be used in open water they should be inflatable as this gives the highest buoyany to weight ratio.

18. Skimmers There is a number of different skimmers available; Weir, Brush, Disc, Belt, Mop Rope; Drum Depending on the type of oil to recover, the optimum skimmer type should be selected. It is basically the oil viscosity which is the deciding factor. In a harbour where quick response is essential it is important to include smaller, portable skimmers in the equipment range.

19. Should a vessel be prepared for handling a smaller spill? According to Res. A535/13 it is recommended that vessels < 120 m shall have sufficient equipment of sorbent materials to handle removal of 7 barrels (1100 litres) of oil while larger vessels must be equipped to take care of 12 Barrels (1900 litres) of oil. In-land oil barges must be able to deal with at least 1 barrel (159 litres) of oil.

20. Words to remember FAILING TO PLAN IS PLANNING TO FAIL