Oil Spill Course for 17 Nations at Chennai

Indian Coast Guard is conducting International Maritime Organization Level I & II course for 17 friendly foreign countries namely Iran, Comoros, Thailand, Somalia, Mauritius, Myanmar, Kenya, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Oman, Seychelles, Bangladesh, South Africa, Vietnam, Madagascar, Yemen and Nigeria at Chennai.

The neighboring Sri Lanka faced two major oil spills and the coastguards assisted them in containing it last year.

The course is sponsored by ITEC division of Indian Ministry of External Affairs. 42 delegates of various maritime agencies of respective countries are participating in the course. Aim of the course has been drawn up in line with Government of India’s vision to enhance capacity building in Indian Ocean Region, Indo-Pacific & Gulf of Guinea countries and littoral countries.

The participation is encouraging and will enhance professional acumen, awareness, co-ordination & co-operation among the countries in the field of environmental protection. The course has commenced today and will conclude on April 29th. The participants during the course will be subjected to both theoretical aspects of oil spill response techniques, and practical live demo of response methods, shoreline cleanup techniques and air surveillance procedures.