The first issue of the ISCO Newsletter was published more than eight years ago on the 11th of July 2005. Since that time the readership has increased from about 100 to an estimated 3,000 made up of those who receive it every week via email, others who access it on the ISCO website at http://www.spillcontrol.org and the staff of companies and organisations that circulate the newsletter internally to their employees.

The idea of creating the ISCO Newsletter originated with ISCO’s President, David Usher, at a 2005 meeting in Glasgow with John McMurtrie. The ISCO Newsletter is in fact a successor to the Oil Spill Bulletin and Environmental Review (OSBER), the monthly magazine published by Alba International Ltd. from the early ‘80s.

Amongst other news the first issue of the ISCO Newsletter contained reports on the listing Thunder Horse platform in the Gulf of Mexico, a new Technical Information Paper on dispersants from ITOPF, EMSA’s future plans for strategically-located pollution combat vessels, HELCOM’s intention to develop a Baltic Sea action plan and new Canadian legislation (Migratory Bird Convention Act) raising the maximum pollution penalty to $1 million.

Today, the Newsletter continues its aim to keep readers informed on matters of interest to the worldwide spill response community with news, articles, and other features that help keep our readers well informed.

This said, ISCO’s policy is one of continuous improvement and we welcome suggestions on how the Newsletter can better serve our community.  If you have some thoughts on this, please write to the Editor at [email protected]