The OPRC Convention has been an important tool for more than 20 years for the improvement of the oil spill preparedness and response throughout the world, and to date 109 countries have ratified the Convention and 37 countries have ratified the OPRC-HNS Protocol. Experience from all parts of the world is that many countries have still not ratified the Convention or have ratified the Convention but it has not been implemented.
In this connection, IMO has agreed that a guide be developed to help countries, in particular developing countries that might have challenges with the implementation of the OPRC Convention.
Recalling that one of ISCO’s stated objectives is “To represent ISCO members in the IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee and its technical working group on OPRC and the OPRC HNS Protocol implementation” it follows that ISCO will support the development of the new guide.
Interested ISCO members who feel they may be able to contribute to the task with ideas and comments are invited to contact the Secretary for more information on how they can assist.
