Patricia Charlebois IMO

1. Preparedness, Response and Cooperation for Oil and Chemical Incidents OPRC & HNS - Recent Developments and New Challenges Patricia Charlebois IMO

2. Overview • International legal framework • Obligations under the OPRC Convention & HNS Protocol • The role of IMO • The OPRC-HNS Technical Group • Policy implications and challenges in developing mechanisms for HNS

3. International Legal Framework There are a number of conventions aimed at protection of the marine environment from pollution from ships • Main Instruments are: • Prevention: MARPOL 73/78 • Preparedness & Response:OPRC 1990 and its HNS Protocol 2000

4. Background • The OPRC Convention was initially established in 1990 following the Exxon Valdez disaster in March 1989 • The Convention entered into force five years later in May 1995. • The HNS Protocol followed in 2000, in recognition of the increasing threat of pollution incidents involving chemicals • The HNS Protocol has yet to enter into force

5. The OPRC Convention & HNS Protocol • The OPRC Convention, as the parent document, provides the template for the HNS Protocol • As such… • The two are mirror pieces of international legislation; • structured and worded very similarly; • covering oil spill response and HNS response, respectively.

6. OPRC Convention and HNS Protocol Both provide… • a framework for the development of national and regional capacity to prepare for and respond to oil/HNS pollution incidents, and… A platform to: • facilitate international co-operation and mutual assistance in preparing for and responding to major oil/HNS pollution incidents

7. Obligations of parties- National level - 1. A requirement for pollution emergency plans for: • Ships; offshore oil operations; ports and oil/HNS handling facilities 2. Reporting: • Requirement reporting any observed event involving the discharge of oil/HNS to the nearest coastal State or State with jurisdiction 3. A national system for responding to Oil/HNS pollution incidents which includes: • a national contingency plan • designated national authorities • an identified national operation focal point (or focal points) 4. Preparedness and response capacity • Individually or through bilateral/multilateral co-operation: Pre-positioned equipment; programme of exercises and training of personnel; plans and communication capabilities; a mechanism for coordinating the response

8. Obligations of Parties- International level - Requirement for… • Informing neighbouring States of spills which could affect them • Providing assistance if requested by another party • Requesting Parties agree to facilitate the receipt of such assistance in-country • Parties agree, to the extent of their capability, to provide international assistance to other State parties, and; • Involve oil, chemical & shipping industries in preparedness & response activities

9. Global Response Framework for Oil Spills INTER-REGIONAL ARRANGEMENTS International TIER 3 Mobilization of all available national resources and possibly regional and int’l systems--depending on size of spill Multi-national or Regional BILATERAL & MULTILATERAL PLANS TIER 2 Coordination of more than 1 source of equipment/personnel National COUNTRY PLAN Area Local TIER 1Small spill within capability of individual facility or harbour authority INDUSTRY APPROACH INTERNATIONAL FRAMEWORK

10. The Role of IMO • Information Services • Education & Training • Technical services • Technical assistance

11. The OPRC-HNS Technical Group • A subsidiary body of the IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) • The OPRC-HNS Technical Group that meets in conjunction with MEPC to: • Share experiences among a network of partners – Member States, Regional Agreements and Industry • develop tools, resources, manuals, guidance documents and training courses to help assist countries in building capacity • Plays an important role in helping countries in understanding and implementing the OPRC Convention and its Protocol and for improving preparedness and response to oil and HNS incidents at the national and international level

12. Recent developments • Manual on Chemical Pollution • Section 1 – Problem Assessment and Response Arrangements • Section 2 – Search and Recovery of Packaged Goods Lost at Sea • Introductory courses on preparedness and response to HNS incidents • Guidance document on planning and response to chemical releases in the marine environment –joint document with industry • IMO web page providing information and assistance for HNS incidents

13. Entry into force: Twelve months after ratification by not less than fifteen States, which are States Party to the OPRC Convention. The HNS Protocol-Challenges Current status: Need only 1 more ratification for entry into force of the HNS Protocol

14. Definition • What is the definition of an ‘HNS’? For the purposes of the Protocol… “Hazardous and noxious substances means any substances other than oil which, if introduced into the marine environment, is likely to create hazards to human health, to harm living resources and marine life, to damage amenities or to interfere with other legitimate uses of the sea” HNS Protocol 2000, article 2 (2)

15. Oil: preparedness & response well understood although different types, some uniformity in properties and behaviour approach and equipment options are the same and relatively standard relative danger and hazard to human health is low. HNS: response difficult or impossible. Depending on substance wide variety of substances (8 million +) varying type and degree of hazard completely different behaviour from substance to substance potential for significant danger (explosive, flammable) and hazard to human health (corrosive, toxic)` Challenges……

16. Which means... • Different risk and threat scenario, approach and knowledge-requirement • Therefore, a completely different set of skills, expertise and equipment needed to respond to HNS incidents

17. Constraints to ratification and implementation of HNS Protocol-Maritime & Port Authorities • Little expertise and knowledge of HNS within these organizations or even within the State • Little or no equipment for HNS response (protective equipment, pumps, detection devices, etc…) • Normally, this type of knowledge and the necessary equipment resides with Emergency Services in developed countries i.e. Fire Brigade

18. No such system exists for HNS Global Response Framework for Oil Spills INTER-REGIONAL ARRANGEMENTS International TIER 3 Mobilization of all available national resources and possibly regional and int’l systems--depending on size of spill Multi-national or Regional BILATERAL & MULTILATERAL PLANS TIER 2 Coordination of more than 1 source of equipment/personnel National COUNTRY PLAN Area Local TIER 1Small spill within capability of individual facility or harbour authority INDUSTRY APPROACH INTERNATIONAL FRAMEWORK

19. Challenges to implementation Building systems for response to HNS can be time and resource-intensive taking into account: • Training needs • Equipment needs and maintenance issues • Development and testing of plans for a new type of incident • Building relationships with a new set of partners and stakeholder groups • Translating into policy and regulations – i.e lack of a list of identified substance in HNS Protocol May be especially hard to justify in light of: • Frequency of such incidents • Timeframe for response-if even possible

20. Questions to be answered in developing systems for HNS • National Plan – Options • Update existing oil spill plans to accommodate HNS • Separate plan • Notification and reporting • Can existing systems be modified to accommodate HNS requirements?

21. Questions to be answered in developing systems for HNS Developing response capacity • This is the most difficult for countries to address in terms of ratifying and implementing the Protocol. Questions/concerns • Limited expertise available in current structures • How and where to access necessary training? How to define training needs? • How do we do it? How far do we go? • What hazards will we/won’t we respond to • What can we do ourselves? What can be contracted out? • How we can be sure that contractor’s will meet the requirement?

22. Constraints • Expensive and resource-intensive to develop such capacity • Facilitation of relationships/partnerships with whole new constituency: chemical industry, independent chemical spill response organizations. • Very few, if any, well-established working models yet in place.

23. Summary • Oil spill response is well-understood and there are relatively uniform and standardized approaches (and equipment for response) for preparedness and response to oil spills • HNS is much more difficult due to the wide array of chemicals with widely differing hazards, properties, and behaviours. • Expertise on HNS may not be readily available within in maritime administrations (or even nationally) and, if it does exist, the breadth of expertise is usually limited. • Many complex practical and policy questions to be considered when developing systems for HNS • Developing such capacity can be both time- and resource-intensive (training, equipment, instrumentation…).

24. Questions?