Preparedness, Response and Cooperation for Oil and

Chemical Incidents

OPRC & HNS - Recent Developments and New

Challenges

Patricia Charlebois Patricia Charlebois IMOIMO

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

International

Multi-national or Regional

Local

COUNTRY PLAN

BILATERAL & MULTILATERAL

PLANS

Area

National

INDUSTRYAPPROACH

INTERNATIONALFRAMEWORK

INTER-REGIONALARRANGEMENTS

TIER 1Small spill within capability of individual facility or harbour

authority

TIER 2 Coordination of more than 1 source

of equipment/personnel

TIER 3Mobilization of all available national

resources and possibly regional and int’l

systems--depending on size of spill

Global Response Framework for Oil Spills

The Role of IMO

1. Information Services2. Education & Training3. Technical services4. Technical assistance

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

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

The HNS Protocol-ChallengesEntry into force: Twelve months after ratification by not less

than fifteen States, which are States Party to the OPRC Convention.

Number of Contracting

Parties

% of world’s tonnage

OPRC 1990 85(EOF 13-May-

95)

64.31

HNS Protocol

2000

14(not yet EOF)

15.84

Current status:

Need only 1 more ratification for entry into force of the HNS Protocol

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)

Challenges……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)`

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

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

International

Multi-national or Regional

Local

COUNTRY PLAN

BILATERAL & MULTILATERAL

PLANS

Area

National

INDUSTRYAPPROACH

INTERNATIONALFRAMEWORK

INTER-REGIONALARRANGEMENTS

TIER 1Small spill within capability of individual facility or harbour

authority

TIER 2 Coordination of more than 1 source

of equipment/personnel

TIER 3Mobilization of all available national

resources and possibly regional and int’l

systems--depending on size of spill

Global Response Framework for Oil Spills

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

Questions to be answered in developing systems for HNS

• Notification and reporting– Can existing systems be

modified to accommodate HNS requirements?

• National Plan – Options−Update existing oil spill plans to

accommodate HNS−Separate plan

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?

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.

Summary1. 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

2. HNS is much more difficult due to the wide array of chemicals with widely differing hazards, properties, and behaviours.

3. 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.

4. Many complex practical and policy questions to be considered when developing systems for HNS

5. Developing such capacity can be both time- and resource-intensive (training, equipment, instrumentation…).

Questions?